Recording artist Wyclef Jean is shown in a July 23 TV appearance. He confirmed in a Miami radio interview that he will run for president of Haiti. Recording artist Wyclef Jean is shown in a July 23 TV appearance. He confirmed in a Miami radio interview that he will run for president of Haiti. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)

Hip-hop singer Wyclef Jean has officially confirmed he is running for president of Haiti.

He spoke to a Miami radio station Thursday morning in a broadcast that was streamed online for listeners in Haiti, according to the Miami Herald.

On Thursday morning, his publicist announced Jean will step down from his post as chairman of the Yéle Haiti Foundation, his charity that has supported relief efforts in his home country since the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Speaking in Haitian Creole, Jean said the earthquake is the main reason he is running.

"For the 250,000 people who died in the earthquake, that's the reason we ought to see a change in the system,'' Jean said.

Jean was reported to have boarded a plane for Haiti after the interview.

A Grammy winner as a member of hip-hop band the Fugees, Jean has been an outspoken advocate for his country.

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However, he has faced accusations that his Yéle Haiti Foundation mismanaged funds.

The agency was alleged to have paid Jean to perform at fundraising events and bought advertising air-time from a television station he co-owns. Jean held a tearful news conference in February to defend the organization.

On Wednesday, the Smoking Gun website posted documents indicating Jean personally owes $2.1 million US in back taxes to the U.S. government.

He is expected to be one of about a dozen candidates throwing a hat into the ring for the Nov. 28 presidential election.

Jean flew to Haiti on Thursday and filed his paperwork. He must still prove to a nine-member electoral council that he is eligible to run under Haitian law.

Qualifications include holding solely Haitian citizenship, living for five consecutive years in Haiti and owning land there.

Wyclef has never held a U.S. passport despite living predominantly in the U.S. since age nine, but he may run into difficulty over the residency requirement.

With files from the Associated Press