Home > Politics of Haiti
Haiti is officially a presidential republic, although it is often claimed to be authoritarian in practice. The current constitution is 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 the alleged resignation and flight of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and it is unknown if the current political structure will continue. Suffrage is universalUniversal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage consists of the extension of voting privileges to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief or social status. The 19th century featured movements advocating universal male suffrage, for adults over 18.
1 Government
The constitution distributes power between an executive, a legislativeA legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. Legislatures are known by many names, including: parliament congress diet and national assembly . In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme a and a judicial branch.
1.1 Executive branch
The president is the head of stateA head of state or chief of state is the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising powers, functions and duties granted t and elected by popular vote every 5 years. He is assisted by his cabinet which needs to be approved by the National Assembly. Jean-Bertrand Aristide had been in office since February 7February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 327 days remaining, 328 in leap years. Events 457 Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1301 Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first Prin, 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap, having received 92% of votes in the still disputed elections of 2000, but resigned the presidency on February 29, 2004 under pressure from rebels as well as from the United States and France.
The current interim president is Boniface Alexandre
(see also: 2004 Haiti Rebellion, List of Presidents of Haiti)
The prime minister, the head of government, is appointed by the president and ratified by the National Assembly. Since March 4, 2002, Yvon Neptune has been in office.
1.2 Legislative branch
The bicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) consists of the Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés) and the Senate (Sénat).
The Chamber of Deputies has 83 members which are elected for four-year terms. 73 of these 83 seats are currently held by the party of the current president. The last elections took place in May 2000, with runoffs in July boycotted by the opposition.
The Senate consists of 27 seats, one third elected every two years. At the moment, 26 seats are held by Aristide's party, although 7 seats are disputed.
