Haiti to hold Parliamentary Elections August 9th, Presidential October 25th

Updated April 5, 2015 5:49 PM

Haitian voters are scheduled to vote for members of Parliament on August 9th of this year. They will cast their ballots to seat two-thirds of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. Presidential and local elections are scheduled for October 25th. President Martelly will not be running for another term in office since the Constitution forbids him from serving more than one five-year term.

State elections have been delayed for over four years. The last scheduled election was supposed to be held in October 2014, but a stand-off between Martelly and opposition leaders put the kibosh on that. Then the constitutional window of opportunity lapsed. The Haitian Constitution stipulates that deputies' terms are for four years while senate terms last six on an alternating basis.

Haiti has been enduring a constitutional crisis since January 12th of this year when Parliament members' terms expired because elections had failed to materialize by January 12th. Violent protests against Martelly have been happening in Port-au-Prince, and elsewhere on the island. He has been perceived as wanting to rule by decree, and his efforts at trying to have discussions with the opposition viewed as a lot of smoke and mirrors. They have also been demonstrating against high oil prices and the cost of living.

The mounting crisis of last fall and winter forced Martelly to appoint a special commission that recommended, among other things, Prime Minister Lamothe resign. Martelly replaced him with Evans Paul, formerly Port-au-Prince's mayor.

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Haiti to hold Parliamentary Elections August 9th, Presidential October 25th

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