Politics of Haiti
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Politics of Haiti takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Haiti is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti. The government is organized unitarily, thus the central government delegates powers to the departments without a constitutional need for consent. The current structure of Haiti's political system was set forth in the Constitution of March 29, 1987.
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[edit] Political background
Haiti is officially a presidential republic, although it is often claimed to be authoritarian in practice. Suffrage is universal, for adults over 18. The constitution was modeled after those of the United States and of France. It was approved in March 1987, but it was completely suspended from June 1988 to March 1989 and was only fully reinstated in October 1994. On February 29, 2004, a rebellion culminated in a coup against the popularly elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, allegedly with the assistance of the French and United States governments. The first elections since the overthrow were held on February 8, 2006 to elect a new President. Rene Preval was declared to have won with over 50 percent of the vote.
Runoff elections for legislative seats were held on April 21.
[edit] Corruption
Political corruption is a common problem in Haiti. The country has consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, a measure of perceived political corruption. In 2006, Haiti was ranked as the most corrupt nation out of the 163 that were surveyed for the Index.[1]
[edit] Branches of government
[edit] Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | René Préval | Lespwa | 14 May 2006 |
| Prime Minister | Jacques-Edouard Alexis | 17 May 2006 |
Haiti's executive branch is composed of two parts, the presidency and the government. In this sense, "government" refers specifically to the portion of the executive branch outside of the presidency, and not to Haiti's political system as a whole.
[edit] President
The president is the head of state and elected by popular vote every five years. He is assisted by his cabinet, which must be approved by the National Assembly. Jean-Bertrand Aristide had been in office since February 7, 2001, having received 92% of votes in the elections of 2000. On February 29, 2004, President Aristide reportedly "voluntarily relinquished" the presidency. However, Aristide claims he was pressured to accept the demands of the rebels by the United States and France. Alternatively, President Aristide claims that he was kidnapped.
Following Aristide's departure, Boniface Alexandre became the de-facto interim president. Alexandre, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was in line to succeed the President in case of death or resignation, according to the 1987 Constitution of Haiti. The current president is René Préval, who received 51 percent of the votes in the 2005 elections.
- (see also: 2004 Haiti Rebellion, List of heads of state of Haiti)
[edit] Government
Haiti's government is composed of the Prime Minister, the other Ministers, and the Secretaries of State.
The prime minister, the head of government, is appointed by the president and ratified by the National Assembly. He appoints the Ministers and Secretaries of State and goes before the National Assembly to obtain a vote of confidence for his declaration of general policy. The Prime Minister enforces the laws and, along with the President, is responsible for national defense.
Yvon Neptune was appointed Prime Minister on March 4, 2002, but following the overthrow of the government in February 2004, he was replaced by an interim Prime Minister, Gérard Latortue. The constitutional Prime Minister, Yvon Neptune languished in jail for over a year, accused of complicity in an alleged massacre in Saint-Marc. United Nations officials, expressing scepticism towards the evidence, called for either due process or his release. Having entered custody in June 2004, Neptune was formally charged on September 20, 2005, but was never sent to trial. He was finally released on 28 July 2006. The current Prime Minister, Jacques-Edouard Alexis, entered office in 2006.
The ministries of the Haitian government are:[2]
- Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- Ministry of Finance and Economy
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cults
- Ministry of Information and Coordination
- Ministry of Interior and National Defense
- Ministry of Justice
- Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports
- Ministry of Planning and Foreign Aid
- Ministry of Public Health and Population
- Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Communications
- Ministry of Social Affairs
[edit] Legislative branch
The bicameral National Assembly of Haiti (Assemblée Nationale) consists of the Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés) and the Senate (Sénat). The Chamber of Deputies of Haiti has eighty three members, who are elected for four-year terms. The Senate of Haiti consists of twenty seven seats, one third elected every two years. In the popular elections of 2000, twenty six seats were won by Aristide's Lavalas Family Party.
[edit] Judicial branch
The legal system is based on the Roman civil law system. Haiti accepts compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. There is a Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation), assisted by local and civil courts at a communal level.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Haiti has ten departments (départements): Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nippes, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, and Sud-Est. Each department is divided into from three to seven arrondissements, and arrondissements are further divided into communes.
[edit] Political parties and elections
| Candidates - parties | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| René Préval - Front for Hope (Fwon Lespwa/Front de l'Espoir) | 992,766 | 51.21 | |
| Leslie Manigat - Rally of Progressive National Democrats (Rassemblement des Démocrats Nationaux Progressistes) | 240,306 | 12.40 | |
| Charles Henry Baker - Respect (Respè) | 159,683 | 8.24 | |
| Jean Chavannes Jeune - Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti (Union Nationale Chrétienne pour la Reconstruction d’Haïti) | 108,283 | 5.59 | |
| Luc Mesadieu - Christian Movement for a New Haiti (Mouvement Chrétien pour Batir une Nouvelle Haïti) | 64,850 | 3.35 | |
| Serge Gilles - Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats (Fusion des Sociaux-Démocrates Haïtienne) | 50,796 | 2.62 | |
| Paul Denis - Struggling People's Organization (Oganizasyon Pèp Kap Lité) | 50,751 | 2.62 | |
| Evans Paul - Democratic Alliance Party (Alyans/Alliance Démocratique) | 48,232 | 2.49 | |
| Guy Philippe - National Reconstruction Front (FRN) | 37,303 | 1.92 | |
| Luc Fleurinord - Independent Movement for National Reconciliation (Mouvement Indépendant pour la Réconcilation Nationale) | 36,912 | 1.90 | |
| Hubert Deronceray - RDNP (.) | 18,459 | 0.95 | |
| Marc Bazin - Union/Lavalas (.) | 13,136 | 0.68 | |
| Rigaud Duplan - [[.]] (.) | 9,791 | 0.51 | |
| Rene Julien - [[.]] (.) | 8,608 | 0.44 | |
| Dany Toussaint - [[.]] (.) | 7,905 | 0.41 | |
| Marie Roy - [[.]] (.) | 7,889 | 0.41 | |
| Jean-Henold Buteau - [[.]] (.) | 6,543 | 0.34 | |
| Francois Romain - [[.]] (.) | 6,524 | 0.34 | |
| Frantz Perpignan - [[.]] (.) | 6,296 | 0.32 | |
| Gerard Gourge - [[.]] (.) | 5,852 | 0.30 | |
| Edouard Francisque - [[.]] (.) | 5,518 | 0.28 | |
| Jean-Marie Cherestal - [[.]] (.) | 5,490 | 0.28 | |
| scattered among other 13 candidates | 2.41 | ||
| blank | 4.36 | ||
| invalid | 7.42 | ||
| Partial results reflecting 95.78% of vote tallies counted Source: Haiti's Provisional Electoral Committee, data as of 7:43 a.m. on 20 February 2006. The CEP's figures now reflect the announced decision not to count blank votes against candidates' percentages. |
|||
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front for Hope (Fwon Lespwa/Front de l'Espoir) | 768,487 | 18.95 | 13 |
| Rally of Progressive National Democrats (Rassemblement des Démocrats Nationaux Progressistes) | 433,438 | 10.69 | 1 |
| Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats (Fusion des Sociaux-Démocrates Haitienne) | 400,852 | 9.89 | 4 |
| Fanmi Lavalas | 330,413 | 8.15 | 2 |
| Struggling People's Organization (Oganizasyon Pèp Kap Lité) | 243,047 | 5.99 | 3 |
| Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti (Union Nationale Chrétienne pour la Reconstruction d’Haiti) | 174,757 | 4.31 | 2 |
| L'Artibonite in Action (Latibonit an Aksyon / L’Artibonite en Action) | 110,775 | 2.73 | 2 |
| Democratic Alliance Party (Alyans/Alliance Démocratique) | 247,361 | 6.10 | 1 |
| Christian Movement for a New Haiti (Mouvement Chrétien pour une Nouvelle Haïti) | 199,711 | 4.93 | 0 |
| Mobilization for Haitian Progress (Mobilisation pour le Progrès Haïtien) | 149,282 | 3.68 | 0 |
| Justice for Peace and Development (Justice pour la Paix et le Développement) | 134,437 | 3.32 | 0 |
| Tèt Ansanm | 97,050 | 2.39 | 0 |
| National Reconstruction Front (Front pour la Reconstruction Nationale) | 94,600 | 2.33 | 0 |
| Broad Centre Right Front (Grand Front Centre Droit) | 84,327 | 2.08 | 0 |
| Independent Movement for National Reconciliation (Mouvement Indépendant pour la Réconcilation Nationale) | 74,895 | 1.85 | 1 |
| Bridge (Pont) | 45,407 | 1.12 | 1 |
| other parties | 465,493 | 11.48 | 0 |
| Total | 100.0 | 30 | |
| Source: E-polityka, Conseil Électoral Provisoire | |||
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front for Hope (Fwon Lespwa/Front de l'Espoir) | 23 | ||
| Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats (Fusion des Sociaux-Démocrates Haitienne) | 17 | ||
| Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti (Union Nationale Chrétienne pour la Reconstruction d’Haiti) | 12 | ||
| Struggling People's Organization (Oganizasyon Pèp Kap Lité) | 10 | ||
| Democratic Alliance Party (Alyans/Alliance Démocratique) | 10 | ||
| L'Artibonite in Action (Latibonit an Aksyon / L’Artibonite en Action) | 5 | ||
| Mobilization for Haitian Progress (Mobilisation pour le Progrès Haïtien) | 3 | ||
| Christian Movement for a New Haiti (Mouvement Chrétien pour une Nouvelle Haïti) | 3 | ||
| Rally of Progressive National Democrats (Rassemblement des Démocrats Nationaux Progressistes) | 1 | ||
| Fanmi Lavalas | 1 | ||
| National Reconstruction Front (Front pour la Reconstruction Nationale) | 1 | ||
| MRN | 1 | ||
| Independent Movement for National Reconciliation (Mouvement Indépendant pour la Réconcilation Nationale) | 1 | ||
| KONBA | 1 | ||
| Justice for Peace and Development (Justice pour la Paix et le Développement) | - | ||
| Tèt Ansanm | - | ||
| Broad Centre Right Front (Grand Front Centre Droit) | - | ||
| Bridge (Pont) | - | ||
| other parties | - | ||
| Total | 99 | ||
| Source: | |||
[edit] International organization participation
ACCT, ACP, Caricom (suspended member), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
[edit] Notes
- ^ 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index reinforces link between poverty and corruption. Transparency International (2006-11-06). Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
- ^ P. Schutt-Ainé, Haiti: A Basic Reference Book, 166
[edit] References
- Schutt-Ainé, Patricia; Staff of Librairie Au Service de la Culture (1994). Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture, pp. 165-167. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0.
[edit] External links
- Haiti's New Government Faces Historic Dilemmas U.S. Institute of Peace Briefing, May 2006
