2023-11-13 20:09:51
Supporters of Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina during a meeting in Toamasina, November 11, 2023. RIJASOLO / AFP
No avenue will have been ruled out in an attempt to emerge from the political crisis in which Madagascar is sinking three days before the presidential election, Thursday, November 16. On Monday morning, the President of the National Assembly, Christine Razanamahasoa, officially requested the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to come to her aid and” Act in consequence “ to allow “a postponement of the election” and convince the outgoing president, Andry Rajoelina, candidate for a new mandate, “to sit down at the negotiating table to discuss the rules to guarantee a fair election accepted by all”.
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With the World Council of Christian Churches (FFKM), the National Assembly took the initiative, at the beginning of November, of creating a platform for dialogue and mediation whose objective is to“provide solutions to prevent the fratricidal crisis which might occur if the government imposes the holding of the election on Thursday”, she explained to envoys dispatched by SADC for an electoral observation mission led by former Zambian vice-president Godfrey Miyanda.
The presidential election, contested by almost the entire opposition, promises to be extremely tense. A collective bringing together ten of the thirteen candidates has denounced the candidacy of Andry Rajoelina since several media outlets, including The world, revealed that he had voluntarily acquired French nationality – which, according to national law, strips him of his Malagasy nationality. The exploitation by the outgoing president of the Electoral Commission and the High Constitutional Court with a view to his re-election are also at the heart of the confrontation.
Without ever naming Mr. Rajoelina, Christine Razanamahasoa had previously recalled that the “candidate number 3”, according to the order of arrival of his name on the single ballot paper, locked himself away “in a categorical refusal of any dialogue” while ten of his twelve opponents refused to enter the campaign to denounce the manipulation of the vote and violations of the Constitution.
Threats of attacks on polling stations
As during the first meeting with the delegation of the regional organization organized the day before, it was with public law professor Raymond Ranjeva that the president of the lower house expressed her point of view before the SADC emissaries. In addition to his legal demonstration on the violations of the Constitution committed according to him by the High Constitutional Court (HCC), the former vice-president of the International Court of Justice highlighted “new serious facts” which should attract the attention of SADC in its assessment of the situation.
“It was reported to us that a general officer had been dismissed for having expressed reservations regarding the legality of the instructions given to law enforcement on the ground. In the provinces, the helicopter which transported the campaign team of number 3 was stoned. This is the first time we have observed an act of direct violence”, lamented Mr. Ranjeva. He also reported ” the threats [d’attaques] at polling stations throughout the country, reported by the gendarmerie”. Finally, he was surprised that “the transport of ballots is carried out by private companies without the supervision of law enforcement”. “Exam subjects are better protected”, the professor quipped.
Faced with this situation for which he was not prepared, Godfrey Miyanda asked for time. “The reasons why we are here are very serious and given the scale of the dispute, we must be careful in our response,” explained the former Zambian vice-president, guaranteeing however that he was not asking ” one week “. The coordinator of the observation mission, Kula Ishmael Theletsane, was less forthcoming: “Postponing the elections is not in our power. This is a decision that falls to the government of Madagascar. »
In reality, the discussions are only just beginning. The SADC is a decisive player in this initiative which should lead to bringing the Malagasy crisis out of its closed doors. But she’s not the only one. Late Monday followingnoon, Christine Razanamahasoa had a meeting with representatives of foreign chancelleries in Madagascar.
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A few hours later, the Malagasy were to attend the only debate of the electoral campaign. Only three candidates were expected on the television set: Andry Rajoelina, the former judoka Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko and Sendrison Daniela Raderanirina, completely invisible since the start of the campaign. The other ten confirmed their call to boycott the election.
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