Opposition demonstrators were contesting preliminary results of an October 25 first round presidential election that saw a ruling party candidate take the lead.

When rocks were thrown at the procession, protesters responded by hurling everything they could find onto the street in an effort to erect a barricade, blocking a major thoroughfare with burning tires.

Amid the confusion, one protester was shot dead while another suffered a machete blow to the head, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

"We were attacked by the henchmen of power," Assad Volcy, spokesman for the Pitit Dessalines party whose presidential candidate, Moise Jean-Charles, took third place in the first round of elections.

"Two men, dressed in police uniforms and on a motorbike, opened fire at close range and assassinated one of our activists," he said as he followed some remaining protesters who carted the victim`s remains to another part of town in a wheelbarrow.

The incident comes a day after several protesters, including a presidential candidate, was hurt by rubber bullets fired by police, who also used tear gas and gunshots to forcefully disperse a crowd.

Opposition protests have grown in number in the capital and other cities in Haiti since preliminary results of the first round of presidential elections were released on November 5.

Ruling party candidate Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin face off December 27 in a runoff for the presidency.

Moise garnered 32 percent of the vote while Celestin, of the Lapeh party, drew 25 percent.

The result is seen as one that favors outgoing President Michel Martelly, who is banned by the constitution from serving two consecutive terms, with the opposition slamming it an "electoral coup d`etat."

The election is the latest attempt in the Americas` poorest country to shed chronic political instability and work toward development.

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