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.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president in 1991 before being deposed in a coup d'état. As a priest, he taught liberation theology and, as president, he attempted to normalize Afro-Creole culture, including Vodou religion, in Haiti.
Fanmi Lavalas is a social-democratic political party in Haiti. Its leader is former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It has been a powerful force in Haitian politics since 1991. Fanmi Lavalas governments advocate a policy of "growth with equity" based on Western European social democratic principles. Fanmi Lavalas governments have emphasised investment in education and health care as their priorities and have refused International Monetary Fund austerity measures.
General elections were held in Haiti on 7 February 2006 to elect the replacements for the interim government of Gérard Latortue, which had been put in place after the 2004 Haiti rebellion. The elections were delayed four times, having originally been scheduled for October and November 2005. Voters elected a president, all 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti and all 30 seats in the Senate of Haiti. Voter turnout was around 60%. Run-off elections for the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti were held on 21 April, with around 28% turnout.
Parliamentary elections were held in Haiti on May 21 and July 9, 2000, electing all 82 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and nineteen seats in the Senate. A further eight seats in the Senate were elected on November 26, alongside the presidential elections. The first round of legislative elections generated so much conflict that the fall elections were boycotted by the opposition.
Michel Joseph Martelly is a Haitian musician and politician who served as the 42nd 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.
Elections for a third of the seats in the Senate of Haiti were held on 19 April 2009, with a run-off to be held on 21 June 2009. Per the Constitution of Haiti, voters should renew ten of the thirty seats in the Senate, but as Pierre Emmanuel Limage, died in a car accident and Ultimo Compère and Rudolph H. Boulos resigned, there were twelve open seats instead.
General elections were held in Haiti on 28 November 2010, having originally been scheduled for 28 February. Ten senators and all 99 deputies were to be elected.
Presidential elections were held in Haiti on 25 October 2015, alongside local elections and the second round of the legislative elections. Incumbent President Michel Martelly was constitutionally barred from running. As no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff was to be held on 27 December 2015. On 22 December the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) announced that the runoff has been postponed indefinitely. However, on 1 January 2016 President Michel Martelly announced that the runoff would be held on 17 January, but on 7 January the President changed the date to 24 January. On 20 January, Jude Célestin issued a statement that calls "whatever the person who will participate in this January 24 [runoff], is a traitor to the Nation". Because of rioting and electoral violence, on 22 January the CEP decided to postpone the second round again, with no specific date given, even after President Michel Martelly confirmed the previous day in a nationwide speech that the election should still take place. The run-off date was later agreed to take place on 24 April 2016.
Parliamentary elections were held in Haiti on 9 August 2015, with a second round initially planned for 25 October. Two-thirds of the Senate and all members of the Chamber of Deputies were up for election. International observers reported that early rounds of voting have experienced significant fraud, including people voting more than once due to failure of indelible ink, vote buying due to lack of secrecy, poor training of election workers, poor tracking of political parties, and other problems. This has resulted in the nullification of some results and rescheduling of re-runs. The second round of the parliamentary elections that had been scheduled for October 2015 was postponed to October 2016, along with the first round for a third of the Senate and the first round of a new presidential election.
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.
Alternative League for Haitian Progress and Emancipation is a Haitian political party. The party is led by Jude Célestin, and held three seats in the Chamber of Deputies after the 2015 election, while holding no seats in the Senate, although both houses of Haitian parliament have been vacant since January 10, 2023. The party abbreviation, LAPEH, is pronounced like the Haitian Creole word "lapé", meaning "peace", from French "la paix".
Platfòm Pitit Desalin, named after Haitian revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines, is a Haitian political party led by Jean-Charles Moïse. As of 11 April 2018, the party had two seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one seat in the Senate. Since January 10, 2023, both houses of parliament in Haiti have been vacant. The party leader, Jean-Charles Moïse, resigned as Senator in protest of an alleged bribe of $2.5 million offered to him by allies of President Michel Martelly and in order to run for president in the 2015 presidential election. He received 14.3% of the popular vote and came in third place. In the aftermath of the election, the party played a major role in the opposition protests against eventual winner Jovenel Moïse.
Senate elections were held in Haiti with a first round on 20 November 2016, and a second on 29 January 2017. The first round were held simultaneously with the presidential elections and the second round of the parliamentary elections that still had a run-off pending in some constituencies since 2015.
Maryse Narcisse is a Haitian politician. She was a candidate in the November 2016 Haitian presidential election, representing the Fanmi Lavalas party.
General elections are due to be held in Haiti in February 2026. The parliamentary elections had originally been scheduled for 27 October 2019, but were postponed to 26 September 2021, and then again to 7 November 2021, when wider elections were planned to elect the president and Parliament, alongside a constitutional referendum. However, in September 2021 they were postponed again following the dismissal of the members of the Provisional Electoral Council by acting prime minister Ariel Henry. 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.
Jean Gabriel Fortuné was a Haitian politician, who served as the mayor of Les Cayes and senator. He was also a National Palace advisor and departmental delegate. In 2019, he delivered the offer of a conditional resignation by Haiti's president, Jovenel Moïse.
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.
Plateforme Vérité was a Haitian political party co-founded by former president René Préval. After the 2015-16 legislative elections, Vérité emerged as the second largest party behind only the PHTK, winning 17 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and three in the Senate.
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