After being postponed several times, presidential elections were finally held in Haiti. According to preliminary results Jovenel Moïse has won the election with more than 50% of the vote, meaning that the second round of voting will not take place. He will take over from a transitional government in power since his predecessor Michel Martelly left office in February. Protests have sprung up with allegations that the election was rigged. The new president will face a multitude of challenges in governing the Western hemisphere’s poorest nation, including a cholera epidemic, continued recovery from the 2011 earthquake, galloping inflation, and high unemployment.

The vote was originally held in Octber 2015, where Moïse is said to have won approximately 33% of the vote and Jude Célestin 25%. The results were scrapped amid opposition protests after an independent commission found massive fraud. In the 2016 election, Moïse gained 55.6% of the vote, Jude Célestin 19.57%, and jean-Charles Moïse took 11.04%. The remaining candidates each took below 10% of the vote. Turnout was low, hovering at the 20% range, which seems to be typically for nations with low literacy and a lack of civic education.

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