KND-PUSD

Haitian political party

The **KND-PUSD**, known fully as the **Haitian National Congress-Unionist Party** (Haitian Creole: *Kongrè Nasyonal Dayiti-Parti Inyonis*; Spanish: *Congreso Nacional Haitiano-Partido Unionista*; French: *Congrès National Haïtien-Parti Unionisteis*) is one of the two legal political parties in the Haitian Empire along with Hope and Change. It succeeded the Haitian National Congress and the short-lived Unionist Party in 2023 after the Second Unification of Hispaniola, when the island of Hispaniola was unified under the Haitian government. It is a right-wing populist political party that favors the rights of the Creole speaking population.

## History

### Founding

The KND-PUSD was established on September 11, 2023 after the Second Unification of Hispaniola by Haitian President Toussaint Mathieu. It succeeded the Haitian National Congress (KND) that served as the sole legal political party from 1971 to 2023. The KND-PUSD was formed as a merger with the short-lived Unionist Party of Santo Domingo, which served as the Santo Domingo branch of the KND. The party was quickly legalized and declared the sole political party of Haiti. Since October, the KND-PUSD has been one of only two legal political parties along with Hope and Change.

### First election in cycle

In April of 2023, the Haitian people went to the polls and re-elected Toussaint Mathieu as President of Haiti by a large margin. This came as no surprise to anyone due to voter repression and a lack of a compelling opposition candidate from within the KND. The Haitian government declared elections to be held on October 29, 2023 due to the expansion of the Haitian state and due to the legalization of the new opposition party Hope and Change. In the election, the KND-PUSD were able to maintain control of the Haitian Parliament, however they had a considerably smaller majority than was expected at only 20 seats.

In local elections, the KND-PUSD faired better, controlling 24 out of the 31 departments of Haiti and maintaining control of both legislative bodies in the states of Haiti and Santo Domingo. In addition, Premier of Santo Domingo Juan Castillo was re-elected winning with a convincing 67.14% of the vote and defeating opponent Raul Martinez who only garnered 24.23% of the vote.

## Names, symbols, and colours

### Colors

The official colors of the party are red, black, and green. Though the primary colour of the party is officials considered red, black is used more often to avoid association with Communism and Socialism.

## Structure and leadership

### Leader of the Party

The KND is led by President Toussaint Mathieu, the son of party founder and President Louis Mathieu. The President serves as the symbolic Leader of the Party. The Mathieu family is the most influential political family within the KND-PUSD and its predecessor.

### Chairman & National Congress

The National Congress is the governing body of the KND-PUSD and determines the ideological makeup of the party, as well as campaigning and public policy. The Chairman of the Party serves as the chairman of the National Congress and runs the day-to-day operations of the party. The Chairman is elected by the National Congress to serve a 4 year term, the position of Chairman is supposed to rotate between the two states of Haiti. Yves Frederic served as the party's chairman from 1999 to 2017 and was the only chairman to date not to be a member of the Mathieu family. Currently, the position of Chairman is also held by Toussaint Mathieu.

### State parties

Main articles: KND-PUSD of Haiti and KND-PUSD of Santo Domingo
The KND has two local parties in Haiti and Santo Domingo, which also have their own state committees, who elect their own chairs. Both of the local parties operate largely independently from the national KND-PUSD, however both agree to avoid deviating from the official party platform. Each of the state and local parties operate their own constitutions and coordinate campaign activities within their own jurisdictions.

## Composition

### Ideology and factions

Factionalism was a large problem for the KND-PUSD as the KND served as the only legal political party from 1971 to 2023. Numerous factions have existed throughout that period as divisions arise based on the pressing issues of the day.

## Electoral history

### Presidential elections

#### 2023 Haitian presidential election

Main articles: Toussaint Mathieu 2023 presidential campaign, 2023 Haitian presidential election, and 2023 Jean Mathieu presidential campaign
The 2023 Haitian presidential election was held on October 1, 2023 and saw Toussaint Mathieu win a landslide victory .