Haiti is due to hold general elections on January 8 and it is hoped that the poll will produce a government committed to democracy, resulting in a sustained period of stability in that impoverished country.

Certainly no other country in the region has more to gain than The Bahamas does in seeing that Haiti gets its act together and takes that first step on the road towards a level of prosperity that would encourage its citizens who risk their lives almost daily in search of a better life in The Bahamas or the United States to remain in Haiti.

The illegal Haitian immigration problem has been a serious one for The Bahamas for several decades, and it generally becomes even more serious leading up to an election, as the fear of violence breaking out leading up to the election overrides any trepidation about the safety of the rickety boats that illegal immigrants generally use to flee Haiti.

Unfortunately, as the world's first Black republic, after winning independence from France in 1803, Haiti's past history does not inspire confidence that January's election will make a difference. This point of view is strongly supported by how recent political events have unfolded in that country, starting with the rise to power of the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who ruthlessly ruled Haiti from 1957 to 1986, using a violence-prone paramilitary group known as the Ton-ton Macoutes to stamp out any form of opposition to his leadership.

After Papa Doc died in 1986, power was passed on to his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who continued the Duvalier brand of repressive leadership until he was removed from power by a military coup, resulting in Haiti being led by a series of provisional governments until 1991, when Jean Bertrand Aristide, a Roman Catholic priest, was elected president.

When he took office on February 7, 1991, there were high hopes in Haiti and around the world that finally Haiti would join the league of progressive nations in the region that were enjoying the prosperity generated by their democratic governments. But eight months later, on September 30, Aristide was overthrrown in a violent coup.

During his three-year exile in the United States, Aristide was able to garner strong support from a number of powerful groups within that country — including the Congressional Black Caucus, which has tremendous influence within the Democratic Party — and as a result, then-President Bill Clinton was prepared to use the full might of the U.S. military to restore him to power if Haiti's military leadership had not agreed to step down.

Aristide was restored to power in October; 1994, but he was convinced or forced to leave Haiti supposedly to avoid being overthrown by rebel forces advancing on the city of Port-au-Prince on February 29, 2004.

Some way, somehow, an answer must be found to put a halt to this type of political leadership merry-go-round in Haiti. If not, Bahamians can look forward to the ongoing serious problem of illegal Haitian immigrants continuing unabated.