Development: On 2 May, only 16 out of Haiti's 30 senators and 53 deputies (out of a total 99) sat for the inaugural session of the 49th legislature.

Significance: The incomplete state of the legislature -17 congress seats and 2 senate seats are still be contested with remaining legislators refusing to attend in protest at the final legislative results- points to ongoing electoral chaos and uncertainty caused by the provisional electoral council (CEP)'s last minute reversal of 19 legislative results. These gave the ruling Inité of outgoing President René Préval a much greater presence than the preliminary count suggested.

Key points:

• With the new president Michel Martelly due to take office on 14 May, there is no end in sight to the chaos in the legislature (in which his party, Repons Pezyizan, has a total of three seats). On 29 April the Organization of American States (OAS)-Caricom joint Electoral Observation Mission (JEOM) issued a statement recommending a return to the preliminary results after "analysis of the eighteen [sic.] cases of reversal of ranking of legislative candidates". The JEOM statement also blasted Haiti's national electoral complaints and challenges bureau (BCEN) saying its judges "did not display the necessary serenity and patience to draft their decisions with the thoroughness required… In general, the decisions merely proclaim the winner without setting out the arguments or the reasoning that led to the decision".

• This call by the OAS and the international community for the authorities to provide reasons for the reversals bears marked contrast to its willingness to turn a blind eye to the CEP's failure to provide any breakdown of the controversial 28 November first round results when, under heavy international pressure, it reversed its rankings of the second and third placed presidential contenders to give Martelly a place in the second round runoff at the expense of the Inité candidate, Jude Célestin.

• The chaos aside, the influence of the Inité in the legislature was confirmed with Inité Senator Rodolphe Joazile taking over the presidency of the senate and Deputy Sorel Jacinthe as leader of the lower house. While Préval's party looks set to retain 17 seats in the senate, it was granted 46 seats in the lower chamber according to final results, up from an initial 33 it was thought to have won.