Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Presidential Palace with statue of the Unknown Maroon in foreground,
Port-au-Prince
Courtesy United States Agency for International Development
branches. Particularly protracted and animated has been the
debate surrounding the creation and functioning of the Provisional
Electoral Council (Article 289) and its transition to a
Permanent Electoral Council (Articles 191-199), mandated to
take place following the inauguration of the first democratically
elected president. Although that event occurred in February
1991, as of late 1999, the Permanent Electoral Council was
still not in place.
Governmental System
At the turn of the century, the complex system of government
created by the 1987 constitution was still not completely
in place, although progress had been made since the 1994
ouster of de facto military rule by way of parliamentary and
municipal elections in 1995, the presidential election of 1995,
and programs for judicial reform. The disputed election of
April 1997, the subsequent resignation of the prime minister,
the protracted failure of the executive and legislative branches
to agree on his replacement, and the resultant dismissal of parliament
and postponement of parliamentary and municipal
elections have significantly stalled the completion of the gov-
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