On Sunday, Haiti's prime minister and several ministers announced their resignation as violent anti-government protests spikes in the island nation.

Al Jazeera reported President Michel Martelly agreed with findings of a commission that recommended the replacement of prime minister Laurent Lamothe. Protesters have sought Lamothe's resignation, as well as Martelly's, because they accuse the duo of blocking elections that were slated to take place in 2011. The duo instead has pointed at six opposition senators who blocked the vote.

Still, Lamothe resigned in a televised speech, saying he felt he had accomplished something. He said he is leaving "with a sense of accomplishment."

:This country has undergone a deep and dynamic transformation and a real change in benefit of its people," he continued.

Riots in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, have increased in recent weeks, and one man was found dead on Saturday. Police have used tear gas against the crowds of protesters, but the protests have been going on for months and escalated on Friday, according to RT.

U.N. peacekeeping troops opened fire on a group of protesters in Port-au-Prince when demonstrators began to get violent and threw rocks and burned tires.

The protests have since spread to other cities including Gonaives and Cap-Haitien.

Martelly had appointed Lamothe as prime minister in 2012, and now that he is stepping down, there is speculation he might run for the presidency in upcoming elections.

An approaching deadline in January has been the catalyst for the protests. If no elections are held before mid-January, when parliament is dissolved and the terms of 10 senators expires, Martelly would become the official ruler of the country by decree.

Martelly has been silent on a possible resignation.

The country, which was hit by an earthquake in 2010 and is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has not recovered from the devastation.

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