(CNN) -- A lawyer for former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide scoffed Monday at a U.S. government warning that his client's planned return to Haiti from South Africa could disrupt elections scheduled for Sunday. "The U.S. government has done everything they can to keep him halfway around the world," said Ira Kurzban, Aristide's longtime, Miami-based lawyer. "For them to issue this ridiculous statement that it was voluntary and that he voluntarily stayed in South Africa is pure fiction. He's been trying to come back for seven years." Kurzban was referring to a comment made by State Department spokesman Mark Toner, who said Monday, "Mr. Aristide has chosen to remain outside of Haiti for seven years. To return this week can only be seen as a conscious choice to impact Haiti's elections. ... Return prior to the election may potentially be destabilizing to the political process."
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NEW: "The U.S. has worked "to keep him halfway around the world," Aristide's lawyer says
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The exiled former president has declared his intent to return
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A runoff election is set for Sunday
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Aristide's return could destabilize the process, the State Department says
"He's a populist and represents the aspirations of the Haitian people and (@placeholder government officials) are, I think, afraid that those aspirations may not be consistent with the interests of supporting the elite in Haiti."