The government of Haiti is organized into three main branches: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. National Palace in Port-au-Prince The National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, prior to its damage in a January 2010 earthquake and its subsequent demolition. Haiti instituted universal suffrage in 1950, but most of its elections have been marred by ballot tampering. The Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President, chosen from the majority party in the National. Located in the Caribbean, Haiti (View: A Map of Haiti) occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic in the eastern two-thirds. First colonized by the Spanish and later by the French, the residents of the island began to revolt, claiming their rights to French citizenship and as free men. Chief of state, president, political parties in Haiti given.
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