Haitians will elect their new president and a new Parliament on 7 February. Haitians are proud to be the first black-led republic and the first state in the Caribbean to achieve independence. However, their recent history has been plagued with violence, and the challenges they must face in order to achieve sustainable democratic governance remain overwhelming.

In 2004, a rebellion forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile, which led to a two-year interim presidency by Boniface Alexandre. Since then, Election Day has been postponed four times.

Regardless of the outcome of the elections, it is becoming increasingly evident that building effective and accountable democratic institutions in Haiti will require the international community’s long-term engagement and support.

Read more about the specifics of the Haitian elections in the package provided by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). It comprises:

• An analysis on political parties and campaign financing in Haiti and other countries of the Caribbean Community, excerpted from IDEA’s From Grassroots to the Airwaves – Paying for Political Parties and Campaigns in the Caribbean;
• A graph charting voter turnout in all Haitian parliamentary and presidential elections since 1990 and 1950, respectively;  
• A table on the use of gender quotas in Haitian political parties;
• An introduction to IDEA’s local democracy project in Haiti;
• Guidelines on what constitutes a fair electoral system and a fair election.