The Republic of Haiti has a semi-presidential system of government. The country shares the Island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea. According to the current Haitian constitution, a constitutional semi-presidential system is in place. With this type of government, a president is elected by popular vote and exists alongside the prime minister. The president appoints the prime minister from the majority party in the National Assembly. Legislative power is vested in both government and the bicameral legislature which is made up of the senate and Chamber of Deputies. The government is majorly unitary state where the central government is supreme, and other administrative subunits only exercise power delegated to them by the central government. On the lower level are the local governments, which are constituted into three divisions.
The voting system in Haiti for all electoral positions is done by majority vote, with a possible second-round in case candidates do not meet the initial first requirement. To win a seat in the first round, a candidate must attain fifty percent of valid votes cast, or at least have twenty-five percent of votes above the ones garnered by the second candidate. The minimum age limit for voting legibility is 18 years. One must be Haitian citizen who is not currently a convict, and should be of sound mind. Constitutionally the president serves a five-year term. The Senate has a total of thirty members, and voters are required to elect three senators per constituency to serve a six-year term. Just like in all elective posts, a win must be by majority vote or through a second round if the former is not achieved.
Haiti's National Assembly building was destroyed in 2010 by the destructive earthquake which hit Haiti. The new Legislature Palace, as it is referred to locally, was reconstructed in December 2012. The National Assembly house is located on Avenue Marie-Jeanne in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The Palais National was the official presidential residence until 2010 when the earthquake severely damaged the building. President Jovenel Moise commissioned rebuilding of the palace in 2017.
The government of Haiti is currently in transition into a democratic system. Some of the active political parties in the country include the Alternative League for Haitian Progress and Emancipation, the Christian Movement for a New Haiti, and the Cooperative Action to Build Haiti.
This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018
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