( CNN ) -- Former Haitian first lady Mirlande Manigat will face popular musician Michel Martelly in the second round of presidential elections in Haiti , the electoral commission announced Thursday . The government-backed candidate , Jude Celestin , was eliminated from the race . The announcement followed pressure from the United States and others on President Rene Preval to honor recommendations from the Organization of American States regarding the runoff election . In early December , the electoral council announced that Manigat had won but lacked the majority of votes needed for an outright victory . Initial results put her in a runoff with Celestin , a protege of the president . The third-place candidate , Martelly , claimed he had won more votes than Celestin and a review of results by an Organization of American States team supported that contention . That review suggested that Martelly earned a spot in the runoff . When the initial results were announced , Haitians responded by charging fraud and burning cars , tires and Celestin 's campaign headquarters in Port-au-Prince . With Thursday 's decision , the council accepted the findings of the review . The vote is set for March 20 . Final results will not be known until April 16 , officials say . U.S . Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten told reporters in Washington that Thursday was `` a good day in Haiti . '' Merten called for all of Haiti 's politicians and people to remain `` calm and peaceful '' in the run-up to the second round of voting . The attempts to resolve the political turmoil come as the toll in the nation 's cholera outbreak surged past 4,000 , the public health ministry said . Nearly 216,000 people have been sickened and 4,131 had died as of January 28 , according to the latest report posted by the ministry . Struck by a massive earthquake a year ago , Haiti has been struggling to recover . Its troubles were compounded first by cholera and then by the controversy surrounding the November 28 presidential election . CNN 's Moni Basu contributed to this report .
NEW : The U.S. ambassador calls it a `` good day '' for Haiti . Former first lady Mirlande Manigat will now face musician Michel Martelly . Originally , Manigat was to face government-backed candidate Jude Celestin . There was pressure from the United States and OAS for the change .