Chamber:
	Sénat
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	25 June 1995 17 September 1995
Purpose of elections:
	Renewal of two-thirds (18) of the seats in the Senate. General elections had previously taken place in December 1990 and January 1991.
Background and outcome of elections:
	General elections for the bicameral Parliament had previously been held in December 1990/January 1991, when Fr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide was also elected President of the Republic. In September 1991, a military coup led to his exile until October 1994. Elections were scheduled for December before being postponed twice for "technical reasons", finally being set by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) in early April 1995. On 17 February, a new Electoral Law had been promulgated. The campaign which opened on 24 April was generally peaceful but somewhat disorganised, marked by the disappearance of thousands of voters' cards. Prominent issues related to the economy (privatisation, free-market reforms) and democratic political reforms. Polling day (25 June) - on which more than 2000 regional and local posts were also filled - was monitored by thousands of United Nations peacekeeping forces and went off in confusion but, according to the hundreds of foreign observers (especially from the OAS), in largely free and fair conditions. Opposition groups, however, alleged voter manipulation favouring the ruling parties and widespread irregularities. On 13 August, the first round was repeated in all districts with no declared winners. The postponed second round for seven Senate and 56 Deputies' seats, which finally took place on 17 September, was marked by a low turnout and major opposition boycott. According to final results as announced by the CEP, the Lavalas movement - a three-party coalition endorsed by President Aristide - captured an overwhelming majority of the votes and contested seats (17 of 18 in the Senate, 68 of 83 in the Chamber of Deputies). This populist alliance - led by the Lavalas Political Organization (OPL) - topped the centre-left National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD) coalition to which the President had formerly been affiliated and which had triumphed at the previous general elections. On 13 October, Prime Minister Smarck Michel resigned. On 17 December, Mr. René Préval was elected President to succeed Fr. Aristide.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (25 June 1995): Elections results
Number of registered electors	3,668,049
Voters	1,140,523 (31.09 %)

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Political Platform Lavalas	17
Independents	7
National Committee of the Congress of Democratic Movements (KONAKOM)	1
National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD)	1
Democratic Christian Rally (RDCH)	1

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	27
Women:	0