Haiti
Presidential and Legislative Election, 28 November 2010
Hurricane Tomas, 5 November 2010
As Haiti was attempting to recover from the January earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak, Hurricane Tomas struck on 5 November 2010, causing mudslides and severe flooding in the country’s coastal areas. Houses were destroyed and roads were blocked, with 35 fatalities reported (Pasch and Kimberlain 2011; Towriss 2022).
Impact on the electoral process
Voting in the first round of Haiti’s 2010 presidential and legislative elections took place on 28 November 2010. The combined impact of the Richter Scale-7 earthquake, Hurricane Tomas and cholera epidemic resulted in numerous challenges for election stakeholders throughout the electoral cycle (Towriss 2022).
The voter turnout for both the presidential and legislative elections in 2010 was 22.9 per cent. The 2006 presidential election turnout had been 59 per cent and the 2006 legislative election, 28.3 per cent (International IDEA n.d.a; International IDEA n.d.b).
Bibliography
International IDEA, Voter Turnout Database – ‘Haiti Presidential’, [n.d.a], <https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/question-country?question_id=9189&country=96&database_theme=293>, accessed 19 September 2025
—, Voter Turnout Database – ‘Haiti Parliamentary’, [n.d.b], <https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/question-country?question_id=9188&country=96&database_theme=293>, accessed 19 September 2025
Pasch, R. J. and Kimberlain, T. B., ‘Tropical Cyclone: Report Hurricane Tomas’, National Hurricane Center, 7 March 2011, <https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL212010_Tomas.pdf> accessed 19 September 2025
Towriss, D., The Impact of Natural Hazards on Haiti's 2010 Presidential and Legislative Elections (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2022), <https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/2023-10/the-impact-of-natural-hazards-on-haiti%27s-2010-presidential-and-legislative-elections-en.pdf> accessed 19 September 2025
Severe Storms and Hurricanes
