Madagascar legislative elections: ruling party obtains absolute majority

The High Constitutional Court of Madagascar officially proclaimed the results of the legislative elections of May 29. According to figures announced this Thursday, the presidential party obtained an absolute majority in the National Assembly.

This Thursday, June 27, the High Constitutional Court (HCC) of Madagascar proclaimed the official results of the legislative elections held on May 29. During a solemn hearing at the seat of the Court in Ambohidahy, Antananarivo, which lasted nearly three hours, many candidates, both from the presidential party and the opposition, were present to witness this announcement.

The final results show some differences from the provisional figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (Ceni) on June 11. Of the 163 elected deputies, 84 are affiliated with the ruling party, Irmar (Isika rehetra miaraka amin’i Andry Rajoelina), giving it an absolute majority in the National Assembly. In addition, 51 deputies are independent candidates and 21 others come from the opposition platform. The remaining seats were won by representatives of new parties.

The achievement of an absolute majority by President Andry Rajoelina’s party is seen by many political observers as a sign of political stability. However, these elections have been marked by significant tensions, with accusations of mutual fraud between candidates of the ruling party and those of the opposition.

The president of the HCC, Florent Rakotoarisoa, indicated that the Court had received no less than 1,500 applications relating to the elections. When the results were announced, the Court rejected requests to disqualify some candidates for lack of sufficient evidence. However, it canceled the results in four districts (Maevatanana, Fénérive-Est, Faratsiho and Moramanga) following proven accusations of fraud.