The second round of Senate elections took place in Haiti on 21 June. The Provisional Electoral Council has just announced the results.

The Senate comprises 30 seats. This year, 12 seats were contested in 9 departments. According to Wikipedia, the outgoing Senators were affiliated as follows:

Fwon Lespwa – 4 (This is President Préval’s grouping – L’espoir – Hope)
Fusion (Regroupement de la Fusion des Sociaux Démocrates) – 2
Organisation du Peuple en Lutte (OPL) – 2
L’Artibonite en Action – 1
Pont – 1
Fanmi Lavalas – 1
Christian National Union for the Reconstruction of Haiti – 1

The following Senators were returned:

Fwon Lespwa – 5 (Ouest, Sud Est, Nord, Nord Est, Grande Anse)
Fusion – 1 (Nord Est)
OPL – 1 (Nord Ouest)
L’Artibonite en Action – 1 (Artibonite)
Union des Citoyens Ayisyen pour la Démocratie, le Développement et l’Education (UCADDE) – 1 (Sud)
Konba (Konbit pou Bati Ayiti) – 1 (Nippe)
Independent – 1 (Artibonite)

At the first ballot there was violence in one constituency (Plateau central). As a result, there was no first round result and a new election date has yet to be announced.

So, President Préval’s party gained one seat. According to my calculations, Fwon Lespwa now has 12 seats, making it easily the largest grouping in the Senate. However, the Senate, like the Assembly, is very fragmented. Recall that the government is responsible to either chamber. So, the potential for government instability is still very much present.