Wyclef Jean has to prove he is eligible to run under Haitian law

He was greeted by dozens of supporters when he arrived at an electoral office in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with his wife and daughter.

"The United States has Obama, here you're going to have Wyclef," he told them.

He also called on the youths present to register to vote in the 28 November poll.

"I'm asking you not for money but your power for change," he added.

The artiste, who lives in the US, was the frontman of the 1990s hip hop group The Fugees.

He has played a prominent role in securing aid since the January earthquake and says he wants to help the hundreds of thousands of people affected.

Roving ambassador

A review board will verify that his candidacy meets constitutional requirements, including having lived in Haiti for five consecutive years leading up to the election and never having held foreign citizenship.

Jean holds a Haitian passport and has US residency.

He says his appointment as a roving ambassador for the country in 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.

Saturday is the deadline to file candidacy papers, and the list of official candidates will be published on 17 August.

Jean filed papers to run as a candidate for the Viv Ansanm (Live Together) political party and he will now have to prove he is eligible to run under Haitian law.

Earlier this week he stepped down from his children's charity, Yele Haiti, which recently came under scrutiny over its finances.

Sharp criticism

While Jean enjoys strong support among Haitians, especially the youth, his plans to contest the upcoming poll has drawn sharp criticism from some quarters.

"He has been virtually silent, for those of us in Haiti he has been a non-presence," said actor Sean Penn, who runs a tent city for earthquake survivors.

"So I want to see someone who is really really willing to sacrifice for their country and not just someone who I personally saw with a vulgar entourage of vehicles."

If Jean runs and wins, he will preside over the spending of billions of dollars in reconstruction aid.

In an interview with Time magazine he said his secret weapon on the campaign trail would be that Haiti's "enormous youth population doesn't believe in politicians any more".

"If not for the earthquake, I probably would have waited another 10 years before doing this," he added.

Other declared candidates include former diplomat Garaudy Laguerre and Raymond Joseph, Haiti's current ambassador to the US and Jean's uncle.

Haiti's ousted ex-prime minister, Jacques-Edouard Alexis, has also been nominated by the ruling party to contest the election.