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Haiti

COUNTRY	Republic of Haiti
ELECTION TYPE	Presidential
DATE	February 7, 2006

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At stake in this election:

The office of President of Haiti

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: Interim President Boniface ALEXANDRE *
Head of Government: Interim Prime Minister Gerald LATORTUE
Assembly: Haiti has a bicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) consisting of the Senate with 30 seats and of the Chamber of Deputies with 99 seats.**

*Boniface ALEXANDRE became president on 29 February 2004, when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE resigned as president.

** The National Assembly stopped functioning in January 2004 when the terms of all deputies and of two-thirds of sitting senators expired. No replacements have been elected and the President is currently ruling by decree. According to an electoral decree in September 2005, the assembly will increase in this election from 27 to 30 senators and from 83 to 99 deputies.

Description of electoral system:

The president is elected by popular vote to serve a five-year term.
In the Senate, 30 members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms.* In the Chamber of Deputies, 99 members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.

* One-third of the senators are elected every two years.

Candidates in the race for president:

Presidential Candidate: René PREVAL
Party: Front de l'Espoir (LESPWA)
Presidential Candidate: Charles Henri BAKER
Party: Independent Candidate
Presidential Candidate: Roc Leslie MANIGAT
Party: Assembly of Progressive National Democrats / Rassemblement des Démocrates Nationaux Progressistes (RDNP)
Presidential Candidate: Evans PAUL
Alliance: Alliance Démocratique (ALYANS)*
Presidential Candidate: Serge GILLES
Party: Fusion des Sociaux-Démocrates (FUSION)
Presidential Candidate: Marc BAZIN
Alliance: Union for Haiti / Union pour Haïti**
Presidential Candidate: Guy PHILIPPE
Party: National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti / Front pour la Reconstruction Nationale (FRN)
Presidential Candidate: Dany TOUSSAINT
Party: Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement / Mouvement Démocratique et Renforcement Haitien (MODEREH)

*Alliance Démocratique (ALYANS) is an alliance between the Convention for Democratic Unity (Konvansyon Inite Demokratik KID), Parti populaire du Renouveau haïtien (PPRH) and PLD.

** Union for Haiti is an alliance between the Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH) and Fanmi Lavalas (FL).

When was the last election?

The last presidential election was held on 26 November 2000. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president with 92% of the vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

Population: 8,282,968 (December 2005 est.)
Number of registered voters: 3,533,430 (December 7, 2005)

Of interest:

If none of the candidates receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off vote will be held on March 19 between the two candidates who received the most votes.
Parliamentary elections will also be held on February 7, 2006.
The polls were originally set for November 20, but were moved to December 27 and then to January 8, before the final date of February 7 was set. 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, such as the distribution of voter identification cards and the recruitment and training of poll workers.
Presidential Candidate Dumarsais SIMÉUS (Tet Ansanm party) was disqualified on the basis of his dual citizenship.

SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES)

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: IFES ELECTIONGUIDE ONLINE