Haiti Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti
local short form: Haiti

Data code: HA

Government type: republic

National capital: Port-au-Prince

Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements, singular departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Constitution: approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994

Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Rene Garcia PREVAL (since 7 February 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Rosny SMARTH resigned June 1997; currently no prime minister; ratification of a new prime minister held up in political gridlock stemming from controversy over the 6 April 1997 elections
cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held by December 2000); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the Congress
election results: Rene Garcia PREVAL elected president; percent of vote Rene Garcia PREVAL 88%, Leon JEUNE 2.5%, Victor BENOIT 2.3%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate last held 25 June 1995 with reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September (election held for nine seats 6 April 1997; results disputed and runoffs postponed indefinitely); Chamber of Deputies last held 25 June 1995 with reruns on 13 August and runoffs on 17 September (next Senate and Chamber elections to be held November 1998)
election results: Senate percent of vote by party NA; seats by party Lavalas Political Organization 7, Lavalas family-leaning 7, independent 2, non-active members 2, vacant 9; Chamber of Deputies percent of vote by party NA; seats by party Lavalas Political Organization (OPL) 32, antineoliberal bloc 24, minor parties and independents 22, vacant 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation)

Political parties and leaders: Lavalas Family (FL), Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE; National Lavalas Political Organization (OPL), Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES; National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD), Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE; National Congress of Democratic Movements (KONACOM), Victor BENOIT; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE; Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Fritz PIERRE; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE; Open the Gate Party (PLB), Renaud BERNARDIN; Union of Patriotic Democrats (UPD), Rockefeller GUERRE; Generation 2004, Claude ROUMAIN; Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti (ALAH), Reynold GEORGES; Haitian Democratic Party (PADEMH), Clark PARENT; National Alliance for Democracy and Progress; Haiti Can (Ayiti Kapab), Ernst VERDIEU

Political pressure groups and leaders: Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH); Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS); Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH); National Popular Assembly (APN); Papaye Peasants Movement (MPP); Popular Organizations Gathering Power (PROP)

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, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)