Michel Martelly for political office until 2010, when he became a candidate for President of Haiti. After the catastrophic earthquake, Martelly won the Haitian general election, 2010–11 for his party Repons Peyizan ("Farmers' Response Party"), after a run-off against candidate Mirlande Manigat. Martelly had come in third in the first round of the election, until the Organization of American States forced Jude Célestin to withdraw due to alleged fraud. Martelly assumed his position of the President of Haiti on 14 May 2011 after René Préval retired to his home in Marmelade. His election campaign included a promise to reinstate the nation's military,
Projects of the Caribbean Community in the meeting, chaired by St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to review elements of a draft policy on air and maritime transportation and asked member states to submit comments by the end of June. Up to one year prior, at a February 2012 meeting with a CARCOM Bureau of Heads of Government delegation, Haitian President Michel Martelly had asked fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders to consider a plan that would allow Haitians who hold a United States or Schegen visas to travel hassle-free through CARICOM. Martelly had made clear that his interest was in Haitians enjoying the same privileges as