President of Haiti - Term and Election

Term and Election

The qualifications for the presidency are specified by Chapter III Section A (Articles 134 and 135) of the 1987 Constitution of Haiti.

The President is elected to a five-year term by popular vote. The President is not to be elected twice in a row: he may serve a second term only after an interval of five years, and must not run for a third term.

To be elected President, a candidate must:

1. be a native-born Haitian and never renounced that nationality;
2. have reached the age of 35 by election day;
3. enjoy civil and political rights and not have been sentenced to death, personal restraint, or penal servitude or the loss of civil rights for a crime of ordinary law;
4. be the owner of a real property and have one's habitual residence in the country;
5. reside in the country at least 5 years before election day;
6. have been discharged of responsibilities if previously handling public funds.

Elections are held on the last Sunday in November in the fifth year of the current president's term. If no candidate receives a majority then a runoff election is held between those two candidates, who have not withdrawn before the runoff, who have the highest number of votes.

Each presidential term in office begins and ends on the first February 7 after presidential elections are held.