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,
Michel Martelly the allegations. Companies owned or controlled by Félix Bautista had received no-bid contracts worth $200 million, awarded by former Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. In November 2013, anti-government protests were held in the country over the high cost of living and corruption. Mid-term Senate elections had been originally due in May 2012, while the municipal poll is three years behind schedule after François Hollande winning the presidential election in France. They were postponed again on 26 October 2014—the day they were due to be held—because of an ongoing stalemate between the government and a group of opposition senators over an