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
Michel Martelly song, "Prezidan", "an exuberant ditty that called for a president who played compas". At the 1996 Carnival, to which Manno Charlemagne, the mayor of Port-au-Prince, invited him, Martelly dressed in a pink wig and bra. As Martelly explained, it was intended in part as a political statement: "If you see me as a Macoute, then I'm a Macoute. If you see me as gay, I'm gay. What you think of me is no problem, as far as I am concerned. You have the right to think what you want. I know who I am, and that's the main thing." In