OTHER NATIONS VOTED -- WITH NO RECOUNTS

While many U.S. citizens remain focused on the still-undecided presidential election, other nations have been electing new leaders without nearly so much attention.

Canada re-elected a prime minister, Haiti restored a former president to office and Romania completed the first stage of electing a president.

As could be expected, the elections in each of those countries provided few similarities to each other or to the U.S. contest.

In Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chretien's Liberal Party won national elections for the third time despite a growing divide between eastern and western provinces. The Liberals took 41 percent of the 13 million votes that were cast. Turnout for the election was 63 percent, the lowest of any Canadian election in more than 75 years.

One thing to note in the Canadian election is the exclusive use of paper ballots, requiring voters to put an X beside the name of a candidate and requiring all the votes to be hand counted. All the votes were tallied within four hours after the polls closed.

The recounting of votes in Florida was not overlooked in the Canadian political campaign that lasted only five weeks. In the days prior to the voting on seats in the House of Commons, Chretien repeatedly exhorted voters to "Remember Florida!"

Meanwhile, 61 percent of Haiti's voters went to the polls and overwhelmingly endorsed former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide for president. He received 92 percent of the votes cast in a contest that was boycotted by all the major opposition parities.

Aristide, who was ousted by the army just seven months after being elected in 1990 and who was restored to office in 1994 by U.S. troops, has a reputation worldwide as a ruthless political manipulator.

And in Romania, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, who railed against Gypsies (who make up at least 1 million of the 24 million population) and Jews, finished a surprising second to Ion Iliescu, a former communist official, in that nation's presidential race. Iliescu previously served as president from 1990 to 1996. Tudor and Iliescu will be the only candidates in a runoff election Dec. 10.

In all three countries -- Canada, Haiti, Romania -- no recounts were needed. Canada's paper ballots were quickly counted and tallied. Haiti's votes weren't clouded by opposition ballots, and Romania's voters get to vote twice before a winner is determined.