Haiti will undergo a presidential election come November 28 and today, Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, the Grammy-winning hip-hop star of The Fugees, announced his intention of running for the presidency.

Wyclef told The Wall Street Journal: “My whole country, my whole life since I was a kid, the country has had political turmoil…And after the January 12th [Haitian earthquake], I felt there would be a new beginning and the international world would be more involved, America would be more involved, and I call myself more connected…I think the reality of it, to rebuild Haiti is going to take 25-30 years. But I think there are issues we can start tackling—the education, the literacy problem, the job creation problem, the agricultural component.”

Wyclef had told Time: “If not for the earthquake, I probably would have waited another 10 years before doing this. The quake drove home to me that Haiti can’t wait another 10 years for us to bring it into the 21st century.”

Wyclef took a prominent role in raising relief money after the earthquake. His charity, the Yéle Haiti Foundation (est. 2005), came under widespread attack when critics accused him of misusing funds from the organization for personal use. Wyclef vehemently denied the charges and pledged to be more vigilant with the charity.

According to his brother and spokesman, Sam Jean, Wyclef was deeply affected by the earthquake, especially when he returned to his homeland to help with relief efforts. Sam Jean says: “He saw they need much more help than he could provide himself. If he got involved, there’s a opportunity to really affect the lives of the youth in Haiti. It’s one thing to say, ‘Get involved.’ It’s another thing to actually do it.”


Update 8/6: Click here for an open letter from Wyclef as to why he is running for president of Haiti.