CRI听力:Haiti Marks Quake Anniversary amid Political Standoff

Haiti is marking the fifth anniversary of the massive earthquake that ravaged an already desperately poor nation, in one of the worst natural disasters of modern times.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake collapsed concrete buildings by the tens of thousands in the densely populated capital Port-Au-Prince.

More than 300,000 people were killed and over a million others left homeless.

Haitian President Michel Martelly and First Lady, Sophia, placed white flowers at a memorial in the northern outskirts of the city.

But the event has been overshadowed by an ongoing political crisis in the country.

Martelly has been in a showdown with opposition lawmakers over legislative elections that have been due since 2011.

The president says progress toward ending the stalemate has been made.

" I'm willing to sit down with every party, as I've been doing, and yesterday we signed an accord with most of the political parties, particularly those of the opposition, to make sure that we can govern together and put Haiti on that right track."

The government's three-year failure to organize elections has undermined Martelly's authority.

An electoral law must still be approved by lawmakers to put the constitutional process back on track.