Following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince in January 2010 , Martelly ran for President of Haiti in the general elections . He benefited from his celebrity status as a musician , and held musical rallies called koudjay ( musical political endorsement rallies ) , drawing crowds and media attention . He challenged the results as to whether he placed second , making the runoff , or third . On 3 February 2011 , it was announced that he would participate in a run-off election scheduled for 20 March 2011 . On 4 April 2011 , a senior official announced that Martelly had won the presidential run-off election against candidate Mirlande Manigat with more than 60 % of the vote
earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
Michel Martelly