At stake in this election:

• 83 seats in the Chamber of Deputies

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Rene Garcia PREVAL
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jacques Edouard ALEXIS
• Assembly: Haiti has a bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) consisting of the Senate with 27 seats and the Chamber of Deputies with 83 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Senate 27 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies 83 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.

* One-third of the Senate is elected every two years.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Lavalas Family (OFL)
  • Leader: Bertrand ARISTIDE
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 68
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 72
• Party: Espace de Concertaction (EC)
  • Leader: Evans PAUL, C. ROUMAIN, Serge GILLES and Victor BENOIT
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 2
• Party: Christian National Movement (MOCHRENA)
  • Leader: Luc MESADIEU
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 3
• Others and Independents
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 15
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 3

Last Legislative election:

• Parliamentary elections last held: June 25, 1995, with reruns on August 13 and runoffs on September 17. On April 6, 1997, there were Senate elections for 9 seats but the results were disputed and runoffs were indefinitely postponed.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 8,549,202 (2000)
• Registered Voters: 4,245,384 (2000)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,327,908 (2000)

·         Is Haiti a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Haiti ratified CEDAW: Yes (20 July 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 3 (Chamber of Deputies); 7 (Senate) following 2000 elections 

·         Human Development Index Position: 163 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Haiti a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Haiti ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (23 July 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,282,380 (est.)