Madagascar: 2007 Constitutional referendum

Updated June 2010

The referendum was held on 4 April 2007. The results given below were confirmed by the High Constitutional Court on 21 April 2007.

The question posed to the voters was "Do you accept this proposal for a change in the constitution for the rapid and permanent development of the regions in order to improve the living conditions of the malagasy people" (Ministère de l'Intérieur et de la Réforme Administrative 2007). According to Lucien Toulou (2009, 216), the issues at stake were: "expansion of powers and authority of the president to amend laws during a state of emergency without parliamentary approval; redefinition of the country's administrative divisions by replacing the six autonomous provinces with 22 regions within the provinces; adoption of English as the third official language, in addition to French and Malagasy; and removal of the term "secular state" from the Constitution".

Voting statistics

Registered voters	7 381 091
Total votes cast	3 224 088
Valid votes	3 157 742
Invalid votes	66 346
% turnout	43.68
% invalid	2.06

Table source

Haute Cour Constitutionnelle 2007.

Results overview

Option	Votes	%
Yes	2 378 650	75.33
No	779 092	24.67
Total	3 157 742	100.00

Table source

Haute Cour Constitutionnelle 2007.

Results by province

Option/Province	YES		NO
Option/Province	Votes	%	Votes	%
Antananarivo	851 227	76.78	257 366	23.22
Antsiranana	117 982	55.84	93 308	44.16
Fianaranrsoa	427 231	75.10	141 672	24.90
Mahajanga	293 597	80.33	71 900	19.67
Toamasina	316 249	67.93	149 310	32.07
Toliara	376 948	85.36	64 659	14.64
Total	2 383 234	75.38	778 215	24.62

Table source

Toulou 2009, 216.

References

HAUTE COUR CONSTITUTIONNELLE 2007 "Arrêt No 01-HCC/AR du 27 avril 2007 portant proclamation des résultats officiels du référendum du 4 avril 2007 relatif à la révision de la Constitution", [www] http://www.hcc.gov.mg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=107&Itemid=41 [opens new window] (accessed 14 Jun 2010).

TOULOU, L 2009 "Chapter 6: Madagascar" IN Denis Kadima and Susan Booysen (eds) Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa 1989-2009: 20 Years of Multiparty Democracy, EISA, Johannesburg.

MINISTÈRE DE L'INTÉRIEUR ET DE LA RÉFORME ADMINISTRATIVE 2007 "DECRET NO 2007 - 176" (arrêtant le texte du projet de révision de la Constitution et le texte de la question à poser aux électeurs dans le cadre du référendum du 4 avril 2007) IN Textes sur le Référendum et Révision de la constitution, [www] http://www.mira.gov.mg/election/indexref.php (offline 14 Jun 2010).