President of Haiti Each presidential term in office begins and ends on the first February 7 after presidential elections are held. However this is also altered after Michel Martelly became the president on May 11 of 2011. The qualifications for the presidency are specified by Articles 136 to 147, part of Chapter III Section B of the 1987 Constitution of Haiti. The president has no powers except those accorded to him in the Constitution. The Constitution mandates that the president see to: the respect for and enforcement of the Constitution and the stability of the institutions; regular operations of the public authorities; the
Jude Célestin results showed law professor and former first lady Mirlande Manigat in first place, with 31.4 percent of the vote. Célestin came next, with 22.5 percent, and singer Michel Martelly took third place with 21.8 percent. Widespread riots and reports of election fraud followed the announcement of these results. In December, Martelly supporters set fire to the INITE headquarters, located in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Pétion-Ville. On February 3, INITE was forced to drop Célestin from the race. On 4 April 2011, a senior official announced that Michel Martelly won the presidential run-off election against candidate Mirlande Manigat. His LAPEH party