Madagascar - 2024 Election
The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 5-year terms. The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Assembly and confirmed by the President. In the Senate, 6 members are appointed by the President and 12 members are indirectly elected by an electoral college of subnational leaders. All members serve 5-year terms. In the National Assembly, 87 members are elected by plurality vote from single-seat constituencies and 64 are elected by closed-list proportional representation vote from multi-seat constituencies. All members are directly elected and serve 5-year terms. In the 2019 National Assembly election, the TGT party (known then as IRD) won a majority with 84 seats. Six other parties and 46 independent parties also won seats. Voter turnout was 40.71%.
Voters in Madagascar headed to the polls on 29 May 2024 to elect members of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. Polling stations opened at 6.00 a.m. local time (0300GMT) and closed at 5.00 p.m. (1400GMT) for 11.6 million voters, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission. More than 450 candidates are vying for 163 seats in the National Assembly. The ruling Tanora Malagasy Vonona party is seeking to extend its grip on power. The party won 84 out of 151 seats in the last election. Other major parties that have fielded candidates in the election include Groupe Parlementaire Uni pour la République (United Parliamentary Group) and Tiako I Madagasikara (I Love Madagascar).
International observers from the African Union led by Karine Kakasi Siaba as well as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) led by Justice Florence Mumba, former chairperson of Zambia’s electoral commission are among those monitoring the election across 120 districts.
In line with Article 3 of the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021), SADC shall observe all general elections held in its Member States. As per the standard practice, the Government of the Republic of Madagascar had on 17th April 2024 invited the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to observe the country’s Legislative Elections, scheduled for the 29 May 2024.
In accordance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines, His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation appoints the Head of Mission (HoM) of the SEOM and mandates the SADC Secretariat, to coordinate the SEOM, including the facilitation of observers’ in-country deployment.
The SEOM is set to be deployed to the majority of Provinces of the Republic of Madagascar to observe the pre-election phase and the polling day. The Mission's objective is to assess the conduct of the elections in accordance with the revised SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021). These principles emphasise, among others, the importance of citizen participation in the democratic and development processes, the implementation of measures to prevent political violence, intimidation, and intolerance, and the promotion of equal opportunities for all political parties to access the State Media and for all citizens to access information.
Furthermore, the Mission emphasises the significance of acceptance and respect for the election results by all political parties. To uphold electoral integrity, electoral justice, good governance, peace, and stability in the SADC region, and to fulfill the commitment outlined in the SADC Principles and Guidelines, the launch of the SEOM will include various stakeholder engagements. These activities serve to educate and foster a deeper understanding among the electoral stakeholders about the work of the SEOM.
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