2015 Haitian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Haiti on 25 October 2015, alongside local elections and the second round of the legislative elections. Incumbent President Michel Martelly was constitutionally barred from running. As no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff was to be held on 27 December 2015. On 22 December the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) announced that the runoff has been postponed indefinitely. However, on 1 January 2016 President Michel Martelly announced that the runoff would be held on 17 January, but on 7 January the President changed the date to 24 January. On 20 January, Jude Célestin issued a statement that calls "whatever the person who will participate in this January 24 [runoff], is a traitor to the Nation". Because of rioting and electoral violence, on 22 January the CEP decided to postpone the second round again, with no specific date given, even after President Michel Martelly confirmed the previous day in a nationwide speech that the election should still take place. The run-off date was later agreed to take place on 24 April 2016.

After the preliminary results were published on 25 October 2015, Jude Célestin said he did not recognize them. His criticism was joined by five other presidential candidates. They issued a joint statement denouncing the results as "anti-democratic" and called for the people's vote to be respected. Martelly openly declared his support for Moïse. The supporters of Célestin protested in the streets, together with the supporters of Jean-Charles Moïse's Platfom Pitit Desalin and supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party the presidential candidate of which, Maryse Narcisse, finished fourth behind Jean-Charles Moïse and also denounced the results during a news conference. The protesters threw rocks and burned tires. The police responded with tear gas and made some arrests. The police also stopped and searched the vehicle of a former top government prosecutor, Claudy Gassant, who is a supporter of Moïse.

Amid allegations of fraud in the 2015 elections, Martelly resigned the presidency on 10 February 2016, leaving Haiti without a president for a week. The National Assembly elected on 17 February 2016 Jocelerme Privert as provisional President. Privert formed a month-long verification commission to restore legitimacy to the electoral process. In May 2016, the commission audited about 13,000 ballots and determined that the elections had been dishonest and recommended a complete rerun of the election.

On 5 April 2016, the CEP announced that a rerun of the presidential election is to take place on 9 October 2016, alongside the second round of the parliamentary elections that has been suspended and the first round for a third of the Senate.