Haiti - News Archive

Hatian President May Stay Beyond Term

Posted: 05/06/2010
President Rene PREVAL on Tuesday decreed that he could stay in office up to three months after his term ends on February 7, 2011. According to PREVAL'S Chief of Staff, this is in order to ensure that Haiti has a chief of state in the event that Presidential elections cannot be held on time. Some opposition members, however, variously denounced the decree as a power-grab, likening the President to past dictators, and accused PREVAL of trying to profit from foreign reconstruction assistance. Under law, the National Assembly must assent to the decree by Monday, when its term technically expires. Legislative elections due on February 28 were not possible to hold after a devastating January 12 earthquake.

Source: ElectionGuide

US Urges Haiti To Reschedule Elections

Posted: 03/09/2010
Meeting with Haitian President Rene PREVAL on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary CLINTON urged the earthquake-stricken island nation to reschedule its legislative elections as soon as possible. Legislative polls were due on February 28, and Presidential elections are due in November. PREVAL, whose term expires in February 2011, says he will not stay in office beyond that date. Decision-makers are concerned that delayed elections could leave Haiti with a provisional government lacking a constitutional mandate.

Source: ElectionGuide

Haitian President Promises Fair Election

Posted: 01/01/2010
Haiti - Jan 1 - Addressing voters on Haiti's independence holiday, President Rene PREVAL said legislative elections on February 28 would be free and fair. The statement comes after opposition politicans threatened to interfere with voting, responding to election authorities' disqualification of 15 groups last month, including the popular Fanmi Lavalas Party on paperwork technicalities. While Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE, has made paperwork errors in the past, its leaders allege favoritism by the Provisional Electoral Council, which the President appoints, for PREVAL'S Unity Party.

Source: ElectionGuide

France: UN Should Stay Through Hatian Presidential Polls

Posted: 09/19/2009
French Foreign Minister Bernard KOUCHNER last weekend urged the United Nations to maintain peacekeeping forces in Haiti through that country's 2011 Presidential elections. Many analysts expect a tense election environment with incumbent President Rene PREVAL stating he will not run. Violence derailed Senate elections in two districts last spring, and authorities since have not rescheduled a postponed runoff in one of them. PREVAL in 2006 became Haiti's first democratically elected President following a 2004 coup that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE. Peacekeepers have been in the country since ARISTIDE'S ouster.

Source: ElectionGuide

Violence Marks Hatian Senate Runoffs

Posted: 06/21/2009
One person was killed and several were injured during runoff elections for Haiti’s Senate last weekend. The incidents occurred in the southwest of the country, where partisans of two candidates confronted each other in the streets. In the capital, police prepared to use tear gas on students who were demonstrating inside a medical school but may have left the building. Echoing April’s first-round elections, turnout was relatively low despite tensions among factions.

Source: ElectionGuide

Bill Clinton to be UN Haiti envoy

Posted: 05/18/2009
Bill Clinton is to be the new UN special envoy to Haiti, a spokesman for the former US president says.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | World | UK Edition

In Haiti's Runoff, All Seats Are In Play

Posted: 04/29/2009
Twenty candidates will contest runoff Senate elections in Haiti on July 9. None won a majority of votes in the April 19 elections. Nine candidates are from President Rene PREVAL’S Lespwa Party. Only 11 percent of eligible voters turned out on April 19, due mostly to a boycott organized by ex-President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE’S Fanmi Lavalas Party. Violence in one district caused officials to cancel that election, which has not been rescheduled.

Source: ElectionGuide

Few Vote in Haiti After Clash in City

Posted: 04/20/2009
The success of Sunday's election was threatened by voter apathy and opposition from former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party.

Read full story. Source: NYT > Americas

Violence Leads to Cancelled Senate Election

Posted: 04/20/2009
Officials cancelled a Senate election in rural, central Haiti on Sunday as protesters raided polling stations and shot an election official. Haitians were voting for 12 Senate seats. Turnout was low according to reporters, observers and poll workers. Analysts cite cynicism, fear of violence and the lack of contests for higher offices as causes for low turnout.

Source: ElectionGuide

Haitian senators approve new PM

Posted: 07/31/2008
Haiti's Senate approves the nomination of Michele Pierre-Louis, a 61-year-old economist, as the new prime minister.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | Americas | World Edition

New Haitian cabinet takes office

Posted: 06/09/2006
Haiti's new government, led by PM Jacques-Edouard Alexis, takes office after a gap of two years.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | Americas | World Edition

Haiti Parliament approves new Cabinet

Posted: 06/08/2006
Read full story for latest details.

Read full story. Source: CNN.com - Americas

New Haiti president takes office

Posted: 05/14/2006
Rene Preval is sworn in as Haiti's first democratically-elected president since the overthrow of his predecessor.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | Americas | World Edition

Low turnout feared in Haiti legislative runoff

Posted: 04/21/2006
Read full story for latest details.

Read full story. Source: CNN.com - Americas

Brazilian troops to remain in Haiti for now

Posted: 03/13/2006
Read full story for latest details.

Read full story. Source: CNN.com - Americas

Haiti postpones second round of legislative vote

Posted: 03/03/2006
Haiti’s Electoral Council announced on March 3 that the second round of parliamentary elections will be delayed due to protests and complaints following the first round of the vote on February 7. According to the Electoral Council, the run-off vote for the 30 Senate seats and 99 Lower House seats is expected to take place in early April as soon as complaints are processed and logistical preparations are completed. On February 16, the Electoral Council officially declared Rene Garcia Preval the winner of the February 7 presidential election. Observers had expected at least an additional week of vote-counting due to the accusations of fraud, as well as contentious political discussions and street protests.

Source: ElectionGuide

Haiti parliamentary polls delayed

Posted: 03/02/2006
Haiti's second round of polls are delayed, postponing the inauguration of President-elect Rene Preval.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | Americas | World Edition

Challenges for Haiti's Preval

Posted: 02/16/2006
Nick Caistor looks at the challenges facing Haiti's President-elect Rene Preval.

Read full story. Source: BBC News | Americas | World Edition

Haiti Announces New Election Date

Posted: 01/09/2006
The electoral authorities announced on January 8 the new schedule for the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, with the first round of voting slated for February 7 and the second round for March 19. The polls were originally set for November 20, but were moved to December 27, and then to January 8. Main causes cited for the repeated delays have been the sparks of violence in the streets and several challenges in the administration of the poll. Preparations such as the distribution of 3.5 million voter identification cards, establishing the location of the 800 polling stations, and the timely recruitment and training of poll workers remain to be completed.

Source: ElectionGuide

Haiti Announces Presidential and Parliamentary Election Date of December 13

Posted: 02/14/2005
Presidential and parliamentary elections have been scheduled for November 13, 2005 with the second round to be held December 18, 2005. These are the first elections since Jean-Bertrand Aristide went into exile in February 2004.

Source: ElectionGuide

Haiti Announces Dates of Presidential and General Elections

Posted: 04/06/2004
Interim Prime Minister Gerard LATORTUE announced on April 5 that Haiti will hold both presidential and general elections in 2005. According to the official announcement, the interim government and Haiti’s political groups reached this agreement on April 4. They settled on conditions candidates must meet to be eligible to run; for example, members of the transitional government are ineligible, and former members of the Aristide regime must renounce violence in order to run. They also identified measures to curb intimidation or violence during the elections. A specific date has not been set for either election, though LATORTUE indicated that the newly elected president will be sworn into office by February 7, 2006.

Source: ElectionGuide

Haiti's New Interim President Sworn in

Posted: 03/09/2004
Former Supreme Court chief justice Boniface ALEXANDRE was sworn in on March 9 as Haiti’s interim president.   A seven-member Council of Sages was also appointed.  ALEXANDRE and the Council of Sages are expected to name a prime minister .  The prime minister will be responsible for establishing an interim government  consising of members of former president Aristide's Lavalas party  as well as members of the  opposition coalition.  It is expected that this interim government will call for new elections.

Source: ElectionGuide

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