Politics and Administration

Administrative structure

Haiti’s highest administrative entity is the Départements. The 10 Départements are divided into 41 Districts, which are themselves divided into 133 Communes. Finally, each Commune is divided into 565 Sections Communales.

map of Haiti

The 10 Départements are listed below, from largest to smallest population, with their respective capital cities:

  1. Ouest (Port-au-Prince)
  2. Artibonite (Gonaïves)
  3. Nord (Cap Haïtien)
  4. Sud (Les Cayes)
  5. Centre (Hinche)
  6. Nord-Ouest (Port-de-Paix)
  7. Sud-Est (Jacmel)
  8. Grande Anse (Jérémie)
  9. Nord-Est (Fort Liberté)
  10. Nippes (Miragoâne)

The term ‘11th Département’ is commonly used to refer to the Haitian diaspora.

Political structure

Haiti is a semi-Presidential Republic. The President is the head of State and is elected by direct universal suffrage for 5-year terms.  René Préval was President from 2006 to 2010. In late November 2010, presidential elections were held, although the outcome is still contested.

Executive power is held by the Government (composed of the Prime Minister and the cabinet of Ministers), while legislative power is held by both the Government and the National Assembly. The prime minister is chosen by the President from the largest party in the National Assembly. Ministers are then appointed by the president and the prime minister, before being approved by the National Assembly.

The National Assembly is formed of the senate, or the Upper House (30 members) on the one hand, and the Chamber of Deputies, or Lower House (99 members) on the other. Each senator is elected for six years in staggered elections, with one-third of seats being up for election every two years (the latest elections took place in May 2009).

Power is concentrated within the central government, which then delegates to Départments. Departmental authorities hold little decision making power and their main mandate is to implement policies set at the national level. Decentralization efforts are under way, and aim to increase the power and autonomy of Départments and to strengthen the weak existing legal framework for territorial management. Over the past decade, legal amendments have allowed local institutions such as Communal Sections Administrative Councils, or CASECS, to grow in number and in mandate.

 

Sources

CIA World Factbook, Haiti entry, accessed December 2010.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, Haïti Country Profile, accessed December 2010

Haitian Parliament official website http://www.parlementhaitien.ht/. accessed December 2010