The politics of Haiti takes place in the framework of a unitary semi-presidential republic,where the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. The politics of Haiti are considered historically unstable due to various coups d'état,regime changes,military juntas and internal conflicts. After Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed,Haitian politics became relatively stable. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Haiti an "authoritarian regime" in 2022. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Haiti is 2023 the 4th least electoral democratic country in Latin America.
Michel Joseph Martelly is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. On August 20,2024,the United States sanctioned the former president for trafficking drugs,in particular cocaine,into the United States,and for sponsoring several gangs based in Haiti.
The Haitian Tèt Kale Party is a Haitian political party. Tèt Kale means "Bald Headed" in Haitian Creole,and is a reference to former president Michel Martelly's appearance.
Jovenel Moïse was a Haitian politician and entrepreneur,who served as the 43rd president of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He assumed the presidency in February 2017 after winning the November 2016 election. During his term,Haiti experienced widespread protests and unrest. In the early morning of 7 July 2021,Moïse was assassinated,and his wife Martine was injured during an attack on their private residence in Pétion-Ville. Claude Joseph assumed the role of acting president in the aftermath of Moïse's assassination.
Youri Latortue is a Haitian politician who served as president of the Senate from January 13,2017 to January 9,2018. He was sanctioned by the Canadian and United States authorities for his involvement in the global illicit drug trade November 4,2022.
Jean Henry Céant is a Haitian politician who was the twenty-first Prime Minister of Haiti. He was sanctioned by the Canadian Government for his involvement in human rights violations and supporting criminal gangs on 17 November 2022.
General elections are due to be held in Haiti on February 2026. Initially scheduled to be held by 2019,though they did not take place. The parliamentary elections had originally been scheduled for 27 October 2019,but were postponed to 26 September 2021. The elections were then postponed again to 7 November 2021. General elections were scheduled to be held in Haiti on 7 November 2021 to elect the president and Parliament,alongside a constitutional referendum. However,in September 2021,they were postponed following the dismissal of the members of the Provisional Electoral Council by acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Prime Minister Henry later stated that he hoped to hold the elections in early 2022. On 8 February 2022,he called for renewed efforts to organize elections. In December 2022,he signed an agreement to hold the elections in 2023,but stated in February 2024 that they will be held once the security situation was under control. Henry later committed to hold the elections by August 2025,but resigned in April 2024 to make way for a transitional presidential council,which is expected to hold the presidential election in early 2026.
Protests began in cities throughout Haiti on 7 July 2018 in response to increased fuel prices. Over time,these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse,the then-president of Haiti. Led by opposition politician Jean-Charles Moïse,protesters stated that their goals were to create a transitional government,provide social programs,and prosecute allegedly corrupt officials. From 2019 to 2021,massive protests called for the Jovenel Moïse government to resign. Moïse had come in first in the 2016 presidential election,for which voter turnout was 21%. The 2015 elections had been annulled due to fraud. On 7 February 2021,supporters of the opposition allegedly attempted a coup d'état,leading to 23 arrests,as well as clashes between protestors and police.
Carl Murat Cantave is a Haitian politician who served as President of the Senate from 2019 to 2020. He is a member of the KID party,and represents the Artibonite department. Cantave was first elected to the Senate in the 2015–16 Haitian parliamentary election,one of three KID candidates to win Senate seats that election,along with Dieupie Cherubin and Onondieu Louis. He was elected President of the Senate on January 17,2019,when he received 16 votes from the Senate,defeating his opponent Senator Pierre François Sildor,who received 12.
Events in the year 2021 in Haiti.
A constitutional referendum was planned to be held in Haiti in 2023. It is the first referendum in the country since 1987,and was unilaterally proposed by the administration of Jovenel Moïse. Originally set to be held on 27 June 2021,the referendum was postponed to 26 September 2021,on the same day as the presidential and parliamentary elections. The referendum was again postponed to 7 November. Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry later postponed it first to February 2022 and then 2023.
Claude Joseph is a Haitian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship from 4 March 2020 to 24 November 2021,and served as acting prime minister of Haiti from 14 April 2021 to 20 July 2021.
Jovenel Moïse,the 43rd president of Haiti,was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1 am EDT (UTC−04:00) at his residence in Port-au-Prince. A group of 28 foreign mercenaries,mostly from Colombia,are alleged to be responsible for the killing. First Lady Martine Moïse was also shot multiple times in the attack,and was airlifted to the United States for emergency treatment. Later in the day,USGPN killed three of the suspected assassins and arrested 20 more. A manhunt was launched for other gunmen as well as the masterminds of the attack. Haitian chief prosecutor Bedford Claude confirmed plans to question Moïse's top bodyguards;none of the president's security guards were killed or injured in the attack. US authorities have since arrested eleven suspects alleged to have conspired in the assassination. Martine Moïse and former prime minister Claude Joseph were formally charged on 19 February 2024 with conspiring in the assassination.
Martine Marie Étienne Moïse is the former First Lady of Haiti and widow of assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. She served as the first lady from 7 February 2017 to 7 July 2021. Moïse was wounded during the early morning attack on their home in Pétion-Ville that left her husband assassinated.
Ariel Henry is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting prime minister after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse,until his formal resignation on 24 April 2024. During this period where the role of the head of state was vacant,the Council of Ministers he presided exercised executive power. He also served as the acting Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities.
John Joël Joseph,also known as Joseph Joel John,is a Haitian-American politician and convicted felon who was a member of the Senate of Haiti.
The socioeconomic and political crisis in Haiti has been marked by rising energy prices due to the 2022 global energy crisis,as well as protests,and civil unrest against the government of Haiti,armed gang violence,an outbreak of cholera,shortages of fuel and clean drinking water,as well as widespread acute hunger. It is a continuation of instability and protests that began in 2018.
The Core Group was established by U.N. Security Council resolution S/RES/1542 (2004). It is chaired by the U.N. Special Representative to Haiti,and also includes representatives from Brazil,Canada,France,Germany,Spain,the European Union,the United States,and the Organization of American States.
Events in the year 2023 in Haiti. Haiti still had no president,no parliamentary quorum,and a dysfunctional high court due to a lack of judges,with another news report of violent uprisings across the country,realizing they were sent by the gangs while the other families and neighbors escape from a burning capital Port-au-Prince. The government invoked a martial law across Haiti in an effort to contain gang violence. The police and the military are forced to withdraw from their posts when their bases and police stations throughout Haiti are destroyed by more gangs who had also planted weapons in the area to provoke participation. Haiti is effectively destroyed by violence that no longer controls the island country after its long history of natural disasters and political chaos,more than three million Haitian migrants sailed to Florida in the U.S. as refugees,and black civilians in Haiti are rallying to fight back against gang corruption.
