The Chamber of Deputies (french: Chambre des Députés; ht, Chanm Depite) is the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, the Haitian Parliament. The

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the Haitian Parliament is the

Senate of Haiti The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of Haiti's bicameral legislature, the Haitian Parliament. The lower house of the Haitian Parliament is the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate consists of thirty seats, with three members from each o ...

. The Chamber has 119 members (previously 99) who are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. There are no

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s for Deputies; they may be re-elected indefinitely. In March 2015 a new electoral decree stated that the new Chamber of Deputies have 118 members, and the Senate will retain the 30 members. On 13 March, President Michel Martelly issued a decree that split the Cerca La Source into two constituencies, and therefore increasing the number of deputies up to 119.

Elections history

The first bicameral legislature, created under

Alexandre Pétion Alexandre Sabès Pétion (; April 2, 1770 – March 29, 1818) was the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. He is acknowledged as one of Haiti's founding fathers; a member of the revolutionary quartet tha ...

's 1816 revision to the 1806 constitution, formed the Senate as the upper house and the Chamber of Representatives of the Communes as the lower house. The Chamber, which was first elected on 10 February 1817 and held its first session on 22 April 1817, elected Pierre André as its first president of the chamber. Pétion gave his final public speech in front of the newly-seated chamber, but then suspended the legislature the following year. Candidates from

Jean-Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince ...

's Fanmi Lavalas party took 73 of the then 83 seats in the 2000 elections. Following the overthrow of the government in February 2004, an interim government was established. The terms of the Deputies expired during the rule of the interim government and the Chamber remained empty. It was re-established along with the Senate, and elections were scheduled for November 2005. After many delays and missed deadlines, elections were finally held on 21 April 2006. The Deputies commenced meeting in June 2006. The exact makeup of the Chamber remains unknown as the Provisional Electoral Committee (CEP) has not posted the results. The next Chamber elections were scheduled for 2010. There were new parliamentary elections in 2015–16.

Previous composition

Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies

''Le Président de la Chambre / Prezidan Chanm Depite''

References

* * {{National lower houses

Government of Haiti

Elections history

Previous composition

Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies

See also

References