Haiti’s president, lawmakers reach 11th-hour deal

Haiti’s President Michel Martelly and national lawmakers struck a last-minute deal late Sunday to hold new elections by late this year, defusing a political crisis that had the nation on edge. The sitting legislature was to reach the end of its mandate on Monday, and no date had been set for elections, making a perilous political vacuum possible. Protesters accuse Martelly of tacitly allowing the legislature to expire in order to rule by decree, while he accuses the opposition of blocking an electoral law that would allow a vote. But late Sunday—just hours before the country is to mark the fifth anniversary of the earthquake that left some 300,000 people dead and devastated much of the capital—the president and lawmakers finally reached a long-term agreement.

We must re-establish trust between the different sectors of society. … I’m here to act as a bridge.

Former Port-au-Prince mayor and veteran politician Evans Paul, who’s poised to become the next prime minister

The announcement comes after a weekend of protests where demonstrators burned tired and threw rocks and glass bottles at riot police. The demonstrations, comprised of mostly young men, reached a peak of about 1,500 in downtown Port-au-Prince as protesters called for the departure of President Michel Martelly, who took office in May 2011 and is due to leave next year.

World Haiti