On February 29, 2004, the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted. Most sectors of the Haitian society, in particular, the sectors who participated in the movement that overthrew Aristide, hoped that a new era for a real democratization process was opening its doors in Haiti.

René Garcia Préval has become the 51st President of the Haitian Republic. When he was declared the Presidential winner in the early morning hours of February 17, 2006 thousands of his supporters poured into the streets of Port au Prince dancing, chanting and rejoicing the victory of their candidate.Preval won the hotly contested election with 51.21 %, barely the amount he needed to win.