Madagascar, where tensions one month before the presidential election continue to grow with almost daily demonstrations by the opposition, is “at an impasse”, recognized on Tuesday October 17, the President of the National Assembly, close to the power. “Our country is in bad shape, our people are suffering, and we are the cause of this failure. We are at an impasse,” declared Christine Razanamahasoa in front of opposition deputies who demanded during the session the resignation of the Prime Minister, Christian Ntsay, propelled to the head of a contested interim government for the electoral period.
The Big Island in the Indian Ocean has for several weeks been the scene of a fierce battle between the outgoing president, candidate for his own re-election, Andry Rajoelina, and his declared rivals for the first round of the presidential election, scheduled for November 16.
Gathered in an alliance called the “Collective of Eleven”, these opponents have been calling for more than two weeks to demonstrate to demand a “transparent and fair” election and denounce an “institutional coup”. The country’s highest court rejected three appeals in September demanding the invalidation of Rajoelina’s candidacy “for lack of Malagasy nationality”. At the end of June, press information revealed that he had been naturalized French in 2014.
At the beginning of the month, one of the candidates was injured in Antananarivo during one of the opposition rallies, regularly prevented by tear gas from the police. In the process, the courts ordered the postponement of the first round of voting, initially set for November 9, by one week. The United States and the European Union (EU), which are following the electoral campaign with “the greatest vigilance”, denounced a “disproportionate use of force”.
“Seeds of conflict”
Tuesday, in a tense atmosphere, opposition deputies carrying banners “Nstay get out! », demanded the departure of the Prime Minister. Close to Rajoelina, Christian Ntsay is at the head of the executive until the election of a new president, a position which would normally be held by the president of the Senate, ousted. A maneuver of power, according to its opponents.
“The seeds of a conflict leading to a fratricidal war are visible and continue to grow,” warned the President of the Assembly. “I will go where there will be a way out of the crisis in the supreme interest of the nation,” she added to the cheers of the Assembly, while other people close to Rajoelina are beginning to advocate appeasement.
“Why do we venture into illegal things? This is unacceptable. We must beat these adversaries fairly,” a deputy from the presidential party, Paul Bert Rahasimanana, told AFP, calling on Andry Rajoelina for dialogue.
Following a meeting with representatives of the EU and the United States, the Malagasy government called, Tuesday, in a press release, for “respect for the sacrosanct principle of national sovereignty”.
Highlighting the “characterized violence” of the opposition rallies, “far from being peaceful demonstrations,” the government announced that it had listed, in a decree, “propaganda places” where gatherings are authorized during the campaign and called to observe the law.