Vérité (political party)

{{short description|Political party in Haiti}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Infobox political party

| name = Truth Platform

| native_name = {{lang|fr|Plateforme Vérité}}
{{lang|ht|Platfom Verite}}

| colorcode =

| abbreviation = Vérité

| logo =

| logo_size =

| leader =

| founder = René Préval

| foundation =

| split = Inite

| headquarters = Port-au-Prince

| ideology =

| position =

| colours =

| seats1_title = Chamber of Deputies

| seats1 =

| seats2_title = Senate

| seats2 =

| website =

| country = Haiti

}}

Plateforme Vérité (English: Truth Platform) was a Haitian political party co-founded by former president René Préval.{{Cite news |title=Haiti - FLASH : The platform VERITE withdraws from elections|url=https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15084-haiti-flash-the-platform-verite-withdraws-from-elections.html |date=9 September 2015|work=Haiti Libre}} After the 2015-16 legislative elections, Vérité emerged as the second largest party behind only the PHTK,{{Cite web |title=Haiti: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/haiti/freedom-world/2022 |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Freedom House |language=en}} winning 17 seats in the Chamber of Deputies{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2016-12-06 |title=Breakdown of Preliminary Election Results in Haiti |url=https://www.cepr.net/breakdown-of-preliminary-election-results-in-haiti/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Center for Economic and Policy Research |language=en-US}} and three in the Senate. {{efn-la|Since January 10, 2023, both bodies of Haitian parliament have been completely vacant, after all legislative terms expired, and no elections have been held in Haiti since 2016.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-10 |title=Political Vacuum in Haiti Deepens as Senators' Terms Expire |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/political-vacuum-in-haiti-deepens-as-senators-terms-expire-/6913293.html |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}}}

Vérité's candidate for the 2015 presidential election, Jacky Lumarque, at the time the rector of Quisqueya University, was removed from the official ballot by the Conseil Électoral Provisoire (CEP), Haiti's official election body.{{Cite news|last=Granitz |first=Peter |date=September 8, 2015 |title=Leading political party pulls out of Haiti's legislative elections |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-election-idUSKCN0R82TS20150908/ |access-date=December 5, 2023 |work=Reuters}} According to the CEP, they were unable to obtain a document showing that Lumarque had not misused public money during his tenure as a member of a governmental education commission during the presidency of René Préval, although the Court of Auditors held that he did not require such a document, since he was not tasked with the handling of public money as a member of the commission. Citing this, as well as violence against polling stations and voting centers in the first round of the elections, the party decided to withdraw from the second round.

In 2017, the party split over disagreement considering the legitimacy of the presidency of Jovenel Moïse.{{Cite web |last=Haiti 24 |date=2017-10-16 |title=Division de la plateforme Vérité |url=https://haiti24.net/division-de-la-plateforme-verite/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Haiti24 |language=fr-FR}} Several prominent figures within the party decided to stop opposing the Moïse government, reversing the party's prior stance. René Monplaisir, a left-wing figure within the party who was previously a pro-Lavalas figure in Cité Soleil,{{Cite web |date=September 6, 2005 |title=Ousted leader's party to register jailed priest as candidate for Haiti's president |url=https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/ousted-leader-s-party-to-register-jailed-priest-1946317.php |access-date=December 5, 2023 |website=Chron}} rejected the decision and maintained his anti-Moïse stance, saying, "Platform Vérité does not exist anymore!" While remnants of the party have continued on, it does not exist in the same configuration that it once did and does not exert the same level of power or influence.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-20 |title=En Haïti, les partis politiques poussent comme des champignons |url=https://ayibopost.com/en-haiti-les-partis-politiques-poussent-comme-des-champignons/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=AyiboPost |language=fr-FR}}

In 2015 the Conseil Électoral Provisoire, Haiti's central election body, accused Vérité of election-day disruptions in the Nord, Ouest, and Sud departments.{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2015-08-27 |title=CEP Issues Reprimand to Parties - But Is It Enough? |url=https://www.cepr.net/cep-issues-reprimand-to-parties-but-is-it-enough/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Center for Economic and Policy Research |language=en-US}}