Fanmi Lavalas

Lavalas Family
Leader	Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Founded	1996
Split from	Lavalas Political Organization
Headquarters	HT6110 Port-au-Prince, Ouest, Haiti
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left to Left-wing
International affiliation	None
Colors	Blue
Chamber of Deputies	6 / 119
Senate	1 / 30
Website
www.fanmilavalas.net
Politics of Haiti Political parties Elections

Fanmi Lavalas (English: Lavalas Family, Lavalas is Haitian Creole for The flood), is a leftist political party in Haiti. Its leader is former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It has been a powerful force in Haitian politics since 1991. Fanmi Lavalas governments advocate a policy of "growth with equity" based on Caribbean and Western European social democratic principles. Fanmi Lavalas governments have emphasised investment in education and health care as their priorities and have refused International Monetary Fund austerity measures.

History

Fanmi Lavalas was formed in 1996 as a split by Aristide from the smaller Struggling People's Party (OPL). Two main reasons for its creation are known: (1) to allow the Lavalas movement to remain inclusive while opposing the neo-liberal policies of the foreign-influenced OPL, which was one of the conditions for Aristide's return to power in 1994; (2) to prevent rival politicians from taking over the movement's leadership from Aristide and other more left-wing leaders. The Haitian military overthrew Aristide's first government in 1991. "Fanmi Lavalas" may be roughly translated into English as "Avalanche Family" or "Waterfall Family" (referring to the Biblical flood), but the name is almost never completely translated from Kréyòl, although it is sometimes given as "Lavalas Family". It was registered officially as a political party on 30 October 1996, and on 14 February 1997 it was recognized by the electoral authorities.

Elections were set for 2006 by the Interim Government, which was established by the governments of Canada, the US, and France. Certain members of Fanmi Lavalas claimed that Marc Bazin was the Lavalas candidate. However, its grassroots supporters overwhelmingly supported René Préval in his campaign as president. Lavalas candidates boycotted the election for the most part, but its voters supported the emergence of Preval's Lespwa party. The results of the election of the 7 February and 21 April 2006 Chamber of Deputies are not available.

Election exclusion

The Fanmi Lavalas party has been excluded from most Haitian elections since the 2004 coup d'état that toppled it from power. It was again excluded from participation in the 2010–2011 Haitian general election by the electoral council.

2015 presidential and legislative election

CEP accepted Lavalas' request to contest election in the 2015 election. The party's presidential candidate, Maryse Narcisse received 110,449 votes, or 7.32% of popular votes. The party's legislature candidates received 5 seat out of 85 already elected seats in the 2015 parliamentary election, a second round will be held in December 27.

Members of Committee

Youseline Augustin Bell - Committee of Finance, Jacob François - Commission of Information, Majolie Zéphirin - Commission of Information, Jean Luc Bell - Commission of Youth. Members: Louis Bonnet, Ernst Montoban, Jerry Jean Louis, Jean Pierre Barthol, Gary Servius, Claudine Janvier, Philippe André Jacques, Bazelais François, Fritz Péan, Roosevelt Goguette, Abel Moise, Vital Tholerme, Bellefleur Jean, Romane Joseph, Jean Elie Pierre-Louis, Rivière Dantès, Tony Désir, André Joseph

External links

• Fanmi Lavalas Commission of Communication
• Haiti: Fanmi Lavalas Banned, Voter Apprehension Widespread. Inter Press Service, April 2008, Jeb Sprague.
• The Fanmi Lavalas Political Project - Review of three books. NACLA Report on the Americas. November–December 2008. Issue Vol. 41, No. 6. By Jeb Sprague.