In turn, the administrative court of Anosy rejected, on Sunday, September 22, the request filed by the party of the former president to allow him to run for mayor of Antananarivo during the municipal elections of December 11. The TIM had taken the matter to court after the rejection of Marc Ravalomanana’s file before the CENI due to the tax debts attributed to him.
2 min
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Pauline Le Troquier
The noose tightens again around the former Malagasy president Marc Ravalomananawho has been given yet another refusal to run for mayor of Antananarivo. After the rejection of his application by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) on Wednesday, September 18, due to the tax debts attributed to him, the courts in turn rejected on Sunday, September 22, the request that his party, the “Tiako I Madagasikara” (TIM), had immediately filed with the administrative court to allow him to run in the municipal and communal elections on December 11.
Judges support CENI’s position
Without detailing the reasons for their decision, the judges therefore supported the position of the CENI and, in finethat of the General Directorate of Taxes which is demanding 125 billion ariary from Marc Ravalomanana – the equivalent of 25 million euros. The sum concerns unpaid debts from his former company Tiko for the year 2009. Once the flagship of the Malagasy agri-food industry, it had been destroyed during the political crisis which affected Madagascar that year.
For Hubert Raharison, Marc Ravalomanana’s lawyer, he does not have to be held legally responsible for debts that belong to a commercial company and adds that his client is, personally, in order with all his tax obligations. For the defenders of the former president, the administration continues to deliberately maintain the confusion between the physical person of Marc Ravalomanana and his former commercial activities in order to prevent him from running for mayor of the capital, an administration known to be strategic.
In the absence of legal recourse, the TIM does not rule out calling for demonstrations
During Marc Ravalomanana’s tenure as Malagasy president (2002-2009), however, his management of public money was singled out. Several donors – including the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – had notably accused him of confusing the resources of his companies with those of the State.
At the end of the hearing – and despite the disappointment – the hundred or so activists who came to support the former president remained calm and silent while a few meters away from them, several law enforcement officers were watching for possible disturbances to public order. This Monday, September 23, they were invited to gather in front of the headquarters of the TIM which, in the absence of conclusive legal recourse, does not rule out calling for a demonstration.
Also readMadagascar: Marc Ravalomanana denounces political maneuvers behind the rejection of his candidacy for municipal elections