Yesterday, Tuesday, September 19, civil society organizations, the international community and then the HCC (the High Constitutional Court) in turn issued a declaration to dot, in their own way, the i’s. Since the resignation of the President of the Republic on September 9 – a sine qua non condition for being able to enter the race for his own succession – the decisions rendered by the High Constitutional Court have caused a lot of tension. Starting with the one entrusting the functions of interim head of state to a collegial government, the president of the Senate having suddenly renounced the exercise of the functions of head of state. A decision described as an “institutional coup” by 10 of the 13 candidates in the presidential election.
3 mins
with our correspondent in Madagascar, Sarah Tétaud
“Let us not violate the Constitution” urges in the preamble of its press release, the forty organizations of Malagasy civil society, before ordering the High Constitutional Court to “ reverse its decision and appoint the President of the Senate as interim President of the Republic » until the official inauguration of the future president-elect.
Read alsoMadagascar: the opposition denounces an “institutional coup”
The Constitution has been misinterpreted, she argues; the President of the Senate has possibly “ was forced to refuse the role of president ». What ” put in danger » the electoral process, the country and the Malagasy people « due to the absence of a government compliant with the constitution to conduct impartial elections accepted by all. » Everyone must take their responsibilities, in order to “ to prevent the threat of an electoral crisis “.
For its part, the international community, led by the European Union and the United States, declared Tuesday to follow with “ the greatest vigilance the latest developments relating to the preparation of the presidential election “. “ These are the decisions taken 1 hour before the end of President Rajoelina’s mandate on September 9 which are at the origin of this press release. We know what happened behind closed doors », Explains a diplomat stationed on the island.
A few hours after this press release, the HCC published its own in which it once again assured that it had applied the law and excluded any possibility of modifying its decision, “ at the risk of going beyond the constitutional framework “. The institution takes advantage of this clarification to clarify the attributions, the functioning and the extent of the powers of the government collectively exercising the functions of interim head of state.
Asked about these various press releases, the spokesperson for the collegial government Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy Andriatongarivo welcomes the declaration of the international community, which corroborates, she explains, the desire of the government to carry out these elections.
The spokesperson, however, sharply criticizes the declaration of civil society which “ demonstrates nothing more and nothing less than ignorance, even contempt, for the Constitution and the laws, which is unworthy of these organizations supposed to educate citizens on respect for our texts. The decisions of the HCC are not subject to appeal, it is not up to CSOs or anyone else to ask this highest court of the State to reverse a decision it has taken because that would amount to ask the HCC to violate the Basic Law. The HCC has decided, its decision is binding on all Malagasy people without distinction. » The spokesperson invites CSOs and the opposition to inquire carefully about these constitutional provisions before, she says, “ to discredit the electoral process. »