Will the presidential election in Madagascar, the first round of which is scheduled for November 9, take place? Doubt set in as the campaign officially began on Tuesday, October 10, in a deleterious climate marked by the repression of daily demonstrations organized in Antananarivo since the beginning of the month by eleven of the twelve candidates running against the outgoing president, Andry Rajoelina.
On Monday, the statements of the President of the Senate had the effect of a thunderclap in the already electric sky of the capital. In an interview with France 24, Herimanana Razafimahefa explained that she had to give up exercising interim power until the vote “under pressure” and “death threats” from members of the government. Accusations immediately denied by the Prime Minister.
On September 8, when Andry Rajoelina had resigned – as the Constitution imposes on any president candidate for re-election – the High Constitutional Court (HCC) had exhibited a letter of renunciation from the President of the Senate, motivated by “reasons personal”. To fill the vacancy at the head of state, she immediately took over the collegial government of the Prime Minister, Christian Ntsay. A maneuver that the opposition had described as an “institutional coup”, adding to the already long list of violations of the law committed, according to it, by Mr. Rajoelina.
Manipulations
For the “collective of eleven”, the confessions of the President of the Senate resoundingly confirm the manipulations of power to take control of the electoral process and rig the vote. In a joint statement, they call for the annulment of the HCC’s decision handing power to the collegial government and “the opening of an independent public investigation, because it is an attack on state security “.
The Senate President also filed a request with the HCC on Tuesday to reconsider his waiver. “Faced with the political crisis which continues to worsen, the daily injuries and the future escalation of violence if no calming solution is found, I want to take my responsibilities and ask to exercise government through interim, as should have been the case under the Constitution,” he explains to Le Monde to justify his change of heart.
Before announcing his decision, Mr. Razafimahefa, until then considered close to Mr. Rajoelina, sent “his 15-year-old daughter to France, forbade his two boys from leaving his house and reinforced his security,” day and night. He also secured the support of the UN representative and some Western chancelleries. The United Nations, silent until now, expressed concern on Tuesday about “the deterioration of human rights” in Madagasacar and deplored the “useless and disproportionate” repression of several demonstrations.
Andry Raobelina, one of the candidates, was a victim on October 2. Wounded in the head and hospitalized in Antananarivo, he had to be evacuated Monday evening to Mauritius for treatment. His lawyers filed with the constitutional judges a request to postpone the election due to force majeure. “Andry Raobelina was the victim of the uncontrolled actions of the police during a peaceful march” and “cannot participate in the electoral campaign,” they argue, referring to the equal rights owed to candidates. The HCC’s decision, expected imminently, could bring another twist to this situation considered unprecedented by all observers.
« Vague orange »
In any case, the eleven announced that they would not take part in the campaign before obtaining guarantees on a transparent conduct of the vote. The question of Mr. Rajoelina’s eligibility also remains on the table. For the opposition, he must be excluded from the election because of his French nationality, acquired on the sly by naturalization in 2014, which automatically led, according to them, to the loss of his Malagasy citizenship. The HCC, accused like the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of being in the pay of the regime, rejected all the requests filed by the parliamentarians.
The collective, which continued its peaceful marches on Tuesday, also launched “an urgent appeal to all law enforcement and active forces to take their respective responsibilities to preserve [the] institutions”. “Law enforcement must stop repressing our protests. Their duty is to ensure compliance with the law. We are acting in this direction by demanding the holding of a transparent, inclusive and credible election,” explains former president Hery Rajaonarimampianina (2014-2018).
Alone on the ground, Mr. Rajoelina began his official campaign on Tuesday in front of a few thousand supporters gathered in a suburb of the capital. Candidate number 3 promised an “orange wave”, the color of his party, and assured that “no one can take away victory”.
