The case was quickly dispatched on Thursday March 28: following “a private hearing by videoconference” organized forty-eight hours after the filing of the requests by the representatives of the parliamentary groups of the IRD presidential coalition, the High Court Constitutional Court (HCC) stripped the President of the National Assembly, Christine Razanamahasoa, of her position as deputy, and that of senator Herimanana Razafimahefa. The latter had already been removed from the presidency of the Senate on October 9, 2023 under the pretext of “mental deficiency”. A maneuver intended to prevent him from exercising the interim presidency of the Republic until the election, as provided for in the Malagasy Constitution, since the outgoing president is a candidate for a new mandate. Andry Rajoelina was re-elected in the first round at the end of November, in a vote boycotted by the opposition and whose results were not recognized.
Two months before the legislative elections scheduled for May 29, it is the turn of the president of the Lower House, elected in 2019 under the IRD label, to suffer the wrath of the strong man of Madagascar. Long counted among his closest supporters, she became his bête noire by taking the lead in the movement demanding the postponement of the presidential election. At the beginning of November in a pre-electoral climate of extreme tension, she took the initiative with the World Council of Christian Churches (FFKM) to create a platform for dialogue and mediation, one of the objectives of which was to bring Andry Rajoelina to “sit at the negotiating table to discuss the rules to guarantee a fair election accepted by all”. Without success.
On March 23, after several months of silence, his comments denouncing “a country [which] has sunk into evil and total injustice”, “the people [who] are mired in extreme poverty, live in illusion false promises, in darkness, filth,” hastened his downfall.
“The path is open to all abuses”
Paul Bert Velontsara, president of the IRD parliamentary group in the National Assembly, justified his approach to the HCC by Christine Razanamahasoa’s repeated deviations from “the party’s line of conduct”. These discrepancies “endanger not only the cohesion and integrity of the political group but, above all, its political position is part of an approach contrary to the Constitution, thus potentially endangering stability and democracy in Madagascar.” The HCC agreed with him by invoking in its decree a “flagrant violation” of article 72 of the Constitution which stipulates that a deputy can be dismissed if he deviates from the parliamentary line of his party.
The now ex-president of the National Assembly, after having denounced an “illegal procedure” and requested a delay to have time to organize her defense, did not attend the hearing which sealed her dismissal.
Beyond what appears to be a personal settling of scores by the Head of State, the ousting of Christine Razanamahasoa also reflects the fear of seeing her opposition find a political expression in the next elections. “Over the months, the president, through her platform, was able to unite important personalities around her, including among deputies in principle affiliated with the majority. She represents a danger for the president,” observes a deputy for whom this decline brings down “the one and only still legitimate institution in the country.” “The way is open to all abuses, to all violations. From the HCC to the Electoral Commission via the Senate and now the National Assembly, all institutions are under the direct influence of power,” he continues.
Candidates for the legislative elections have until April 8 to submit their candidacy. The parties which had boycotted the presidential election have this time decided to participate. Their demands remain the same: “The return to the rule of law, respect for freedom of expression and transparency in the management of public finances”, recalls Hajo Andrianainarivelo, the president of Malagasi Miara Miainga (MMM) for whom resisting the autocratic drift of Madagascar is the first emergency.
