In February 2004, after protests by students and a civil and military revolt, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown and forced to leave the country.
A provisional government and a U.N. peace mission were in charge of stabilizing the country and conducting presidential elections. The elections, originally scheduled for Nov. 13, 2005, were postponed four times and took place on Feb. 7, 2006. After fraud allegations, protests and tense political discussions, Preval was declared president of Haiti.
In 2010, the Jan. 12 earthquake postponed the presidential elections to Nov. 28. The initial results indicated Mr. Martelly came in third. Thousands of Martelly supporters took over the streets of Port-au-Prince, setting up burning barricades and clashing with U.N. peacekeepers.
