Yearbook 2011
Haiti. After many months of uncertainty over the Haitian presidential election, the second round of elections was finally held on March 20, and the election commission announced two weeks later that former pop singer Michel Martelly (“Sweet Micky”) won with a full 67% of the votes cast over Mirlande Manigat. Although major practical problems prevailed on Election Day, the election seemed to have been correct. However, turnout was very low; about a quarter of registered voters went to the polls, which meant that only 15% of voters voted for Martelly. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of HTI that stands for the country of Haiti.
According to Countryaah official site, the election took on a special meaning when former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991, 1994-96 and 2001-04) returned two days earlier to Haiti from his exile in South Africa, where he has been staying since he was deposed in a 2004 uprising. including the United States, for Aristide’s return to disrupt the electoral process in the still fragile Haitian democracy. Both Martelly and Manigat are among Aristide’s political enemies, but Aristide is still very popular in Haiti. US President Barack Obama even tried to get South African President Jacob Zuma to delay Aristide’s departure. The fears, however, came to shame because Aristide did not publicly comment on the elections. His own party Fanmi Lavalas was not allowed to stand. Assessors felt that President René Préval’s decision to allow Aristide to return was a deliberate provocation against the United States,
The aftermath of the presidential election became all the more complicated. Only in early October, five months after the election, did Congress approve President-elect Martelly’s third proposal for Prime Minister, US-friendly Garry Conille. The opposition to Conille was greatest in the Senate, where outgoing President Préval’s party Inité had a majority. Martelly has said he wants to re-create Haiti’s army to replace the UN peacekeeping force MINUSTAH, which the opposition opposed for fear of a remilitarization of the country.
Another controversial person who returned to Haiti in the middle of the ongoing election campaign was former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier. He has long been wanted for corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and murder and was arrested immediately.
Country data
Area: 27,750 km2 (world rank: 144)
Population: 10,981,000
Population density: 396 per km2 (as of 2017, world rank: 83)
Capital: Port-au-Prince
Official languages: French, Creole
Gross domestic product: 8.4 billion US $; Real growth 1.2%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 760 US$
Currency: 1 Gourde (Gde.) = 100 Centimes
Embassy
Uhlandstr. 14, 10623 Berlin
Telephone 030 88554134,
Fax 030 88624279
E-Mail: [email protected]
Government
Head of State: Jovenel Moïse, Head of Government: Jack Guy Lafontant, Outside: Antonio Rodrigue
National holiday: 1.1.
Administrative structure
10 departments
State and form of government
Constitution of 1987
Presidential republic
Parliament: Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés) with 119 members, election every 4 years; Senate (Sénat) with 30 members elected for 6 years, partial election every 2 years
Direct election of the head of state every 5 years (no immediate re-election) Right to
vote from 18 years
Population: Haitians
last count 2003: 8,373,750 residents,
predominantly African and African -European origin
Cities (with population): (As of 2009) Port-au-Prince 875,978 pop. (A 2.3 million), Carrefour 430,250, Delmas 359,451, Pétionville 271,175, Cité Soleil 241,055, Gonaïves 228,725, Cap-Haïtien 155,505
Religions: 55% Catholics, 29% Protestants etc.; 5% without religion; Voodoo cults widespread (as of 2006)
Languages: French, Creole Employed
By economic sector: No information
Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
No information
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 14.7%
Foreign trade: Import: 3.6 billion US $ (2017); Export: US $ 1.0 billion (2017)
History. – The Republic of Haiti has completely recovered its independence having the American troops left the country where they had entered since 1918 on August 15, 1934.
A serious accident at the end of 1937 disturbed relations with the neighboring Dominican Republic. From 9 to 10 October 1917 many Haitian workers were massacred by the Dominicans because they worked cheaper, thus competing with the locals. The number of dead would have been 12,000. The President of the Republic of Haiti, Vincent, asked the Dominican Republic for an immediate investigation, the punishment of the guilty, compensation for the victims and assurances that similar incidents would not be repeated in the future. He also requested mediation from the United States and Mexico. The situation seemed serious both because the people of Haiti found the government’s action too weak, and because in turn, in retaliation, the Haitians attacked the village of Capotillo on the border.
Finance. – We give below the figures of the balance sheets starting from 1930 (in millions of gourdes).
As of September 30, 1937, the external debt was 40.7 million gourdes and the internal debt, almost all floating, 3.6.
Since 1 July 1935, the National Bank has been under state control. As of September 30, 1935, the circulation consisted of US $ 292,000 in coins and notes and 7.5 million gourdes in National Bank notes, plus divisional coins.