Haiti is officially a presidential republic, although it is often claimed to be authoritarian in practise. The current constitution is modeled on those of the United States and France and was approved in March 1987, although it was completely suspended from June 1988 to March 1989 and was fully reinstated only in October 1994.
Government
The constitution distributes power between an executive, a legistlative and a judicial branch.
Executive branch
The president is the head of state 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 has been in office since February 7, 2001, having received 92% of votes in the still disputed elections of 2000. (see also: 2004 Haiti Rebellion)
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.
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.
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.
Miscellaneous facts
Country name
- conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
- conventional short form: Haiti
- local long form: Republique d'Haïti (French), Repiblik Dayti (Creole)
- local short form: Haïti (French), Ayiti (Creole)
Administrative divisions
Nine départments: Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Political parties and leaders
Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor BENOIT] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church
International organization participation
ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), 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