Port-au-Prince, Haiti ? A stinking, flyblown garbage dump, more than two miles down a pitted dirt road from a highway, lies at the center of the controversy over Haiti’s presidential election.

Thousands of ballots, official electoral bags and other materials from the Feb. 7 elections have been found in the dump north of the capital.

Some officials said the ballots may have been left there by someone seeking to discredit the elections aimed at installing a new government in the wake of a bloody rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.

But supporters of Rene Preval, who have taken to the streets to protest alleged fraud they say is denying their candidate a first-round victory, claim the dumped election materials is evidence. The discovery of the dumped ballots fueled the protests after they were first announced on Haitian TV on Tuesday night.

The interim government said an investigation has been launched.

“We are looking closely at specimens of the ballots found at the dump, to check whether these are real ballots,” said Michel Brunache, chief of staff to interim President Boniface Alexandre.

Associated Press journalists saw thousands of ballots, some marked for Preval, deep in the dump Wednesday, along with a vote tally sheet and four bags meant to carry returns from the elections. Three of the bags were signed by presidents of local election bureaus.

The discovery troubled U.N. officials because the bags were not supposed to be thrown out.

“They’re supposed to be kept,” said U.N. official Catherine Sung, an electoral adviser who works at the main vote tabulation center.

With 90 percent of the returns counted, Preval was just short of the majority needed for a first-round victory. He claimed that “massive fraud or gross errors” had been committed and vowed to challenge the results if officials insist on a runoff.