Michel Martelly stepped down as president on 7 February, as per the constitutionally-mandated deadline, but in the absence of a successor following the cancellation of the 24 January presidential run-off between Jovenel Moïse, of Martelly’s Parti Haïtien Têt Kalé (PHTK), and Jude Célestin, of the opposition Ligue Alternative Pour le Progrés et l’Emancipation Haïtienne (Lapeh). The provisional electoral council (CEP) cancelled the vote citing “a deteriorating security environment and threats to the electoral process” but Célestin had already boycotted the run-off amid allegations that massive fraud took place in the 25 October 2015 first round (see our sister publication Latin American Regional Report: Caribbean and Central America for the political context [RC-16-02]). In one step forward, the new legislature elected Jocelerme Privert as interim president on 14 February but deadly violence and the re-appearance of ex-military officials is fanning security concerns locally.End of preview - This article contains approximately 733 words.
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