Madagascar: Candidate nomination for presidency and National Assembly

Updated July 2010

Only candidates presented by registered political parties are eligible for registration with the High Constitutional Court (HCC, Haute Cour Constitutionnelle), thus excluding the participation of independent candidates in apparent conflict with the Constitution which expressly recognizes the right of citizens to stand for public office regardless of party affiliation or absence of affiliation (Loi no 2009-002, Article 25; Constitution 1992, Article 15). Presidential and National Assembly candidates standing for office must be registered voters (Ordonnance no 2001-002, Article 6.2). To qualify as such they must be Malagasy citizens who are 18 years or older at the date of the poll and in full possession of their civil and political rights are qualified to be registered and vote, providing they are resident in Madagascar, with the exception of the following (Ordonnance no 2010-003, 2, 3):

  • those convicted of a criminal offence;
  • those convicted whose conviction judgement precludes their registration;
  • those under curatorship;
  • those ruled or confined as mentally incompetent; and
  • those deprived by a court order of eligibility to vote.

Presidential candidates

Candidate qualifications

The Constitution 1992, Article 46, specifies that a candidate standing election to the presidency must be a of parents who are Malagasy nationals, must be in full possession of civil and political rights, be at least 40 years old and resident in Madagascar for at least six months prior to the opening of nominations. In addition to the Constitutional qualifications described above a candidate must (Ordonnance no 2001-002, 6):

  • be resident on Malagasy territory at the opening of nominations;
  • be in conformity with the rules of eligibility governing voter registration and must prove actual registration on a voter roll;
  • have fulfilled all tax obligations; and
  • must pay a deposit of Ariary 25 000 000 (this is refundable should the candidate obtain 10% or more of the votes in the first round.

Nomination documentation and vetting process

Nomination forms and indexed dossiers of supporting documentation, demonstrating the eligibility of the candidates, must be submitted to Clerk of the High Constitutional Court at least 50 days from the first round's election day; a receipt is issued for it and no candidate may withdraw after the deposit has been paid (Ordonnance no 2001-002, 11). The application form must contain the signature of the candidate authenticated by the Prefect or Sub Prefect and be accompanied by a dossier containing the following documents in triplicate (Ordonnance no 2001-002, 8, 9):

  1. a birth certificate, a record of marital state or a certified copy of a national identity card;
  2. a certificate of Malagasy nationality;
  3. a certificate from the taxation administration indicating that taxes are up to date;
  4. an affidavit declaring that other duties and taxes for the past three years have been paid;
  5. a sworn declaration of all assets, movable and immovable, and of revenues;
  6. a certificate of residence;
  7. a certificate attesting that the candidate is a registered voter, including the date of issue of the voter's card;
  8. a sworn undertaking to respect the provisions of the Constitution; and
  9. a certified copy of the receipt of payment of the deposit of Ariary 25 000 000.

The High Constitutional Court verifies the eligibility of the candidates and publishes the final list of candidates admitted to the presidential contest in the Journal officiel of the Republic and the list is publicised on radio and television (Ordonnance no 2001-002, 14, 15).

Death of a candidate

According to the Constitution of 1992, Article 47, should a candidate for election die before election day polling must be postponed and fresh elections must be called in terms of arrangements specified by a governing organic law, which in this case is Ordonnance no 2001-002. In the event of the death of a candidate before the poll for the first round has been conducted the President of the High Constitutional Court must inform the government which must issue a decree postponing the election so that a fresh nomination of candidates may take place (Ordonnance no 2001-002, 4.1). Should one of the two candidates die before the second round of balloting has occurred, then the High Constitutional Court must replace the deceased candidate with the candidate that came third in the first round of voting and must notify the government which must issue a decree for the postponement of the poll until the Sunday after thirty days have lapsed since the proclamation of the results of the first round (Ordonnance no 2001-002, 4.2).

National Assembly

Candidate qualifications

To qualify as a candidate for election to the National Assembly a person must (Loi organique no 2002-004, 9):

  1. be a Malagasy national;
  2. have been resident of Madagascar;
  3. be 21 years old or older on polling day;
  4. be in possession of full civil and political rights;
  5. be registered as a voter in the constituency contested;
  6. not have been convicted of a criminal offence; and
  7. be upto date with taxes.

Nomination documentation, candidate deaths and vetting process

Nomination documentation is lodged with the CENI and a receipt must be issued (Loi organique no 2002-004, 9 (read with Décret no 2010-120, 22, 71)). Parties or coalitions nominating candidates may also submit two substitute candidates for single member constituencies or a list of substitute candidates for multimember proportional representation constituencies; in the event of the death of a candidate the first substitute becomes the candidate (Loi organique no 2002-004, 32, 42). Candidates or candidate lists must also include an agent and failure to do so will lead to disqualification (Loi organique no 2002-004, 37). The nomination documentation must include an indexed dossier for each candidate containing four copies of (Loi organique no 2002-004, 35, 41):

  1. a declaration by a party providing a mandate to the candidate;
  2. a birth certificate, a record of marital state or a certified copy of a national identity card;
  3. a certificate from the taxation administration indicating that taxes are up to date;
  4. an affidavit declaring that other duties and taxes for the past three years have been paid;
  5. a sworn declaration of all assets, movable and immovable, and of revenues;
  6. a certificate attesting that the candidate is a registered voter, including the number, date of issue of the voter's card and polling station;
  7. a certificate of Malagasy nationality by naturalized foreigners.

Officials of the CENI verify the eligibility of the candidates within 48 hours of receipt, issue those accepted with a certificate of registration that authorises those candidate to engage in campaign activities and immediately notify those rejected in writing with the reason for their rejection (Loi organique no 2002-004, 45 (read with Décret no 2010-120, 22, 71), 48). An upto date list of registered must be maintained and posted outside the office and the list must be speedily submitted to the High Constitutional Court (Loi organique no 2002-004, 48). The High Constitutional Court has 48 hours from the reception of a dossier to examine the documentaion and issue a ruling confirming or overturning the disqualification (Loi organique no 2002-004, 49). The CENI is informed of the decision and in turn must immediately inform the candidate and political party concerned; if the disqualification is upheld the party has 48 hours to nominate another candidate and the substitutes for that candidate (Loi organique no 2002-004, 49, 50). The High Constitutional Court is responsible for publishing the final lists of candidates for each constituency in the Journal Officiel of the Republic and the public is informed of the lists through the mass media (Loi organique no 2002-004, 51).

References

CONSTITUTION 1992, [www] http://www.primature.gov.mg/webfiles/ Projet-Rev-Constitution.pdf [PDF document. opens new window] (accessed 15 Jun 2010).

DÉCRET NO 2010-120 fixant l'organisation, le fonctionnement et les attributions de la Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendant, [www] http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/MG/madagascar-decret-no-2010-120-2010-in-french/at_download/file [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 1 Jul 2010).

LOI NO 2009-002 relative aux partis politiques, [www] http://ddata.over-blog.com/xxxyyy/1/35/48/78/Madagascar/loi-2009-sur-les-partis-politiques.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 14 Jun 2010).

LOI ORGANIQUE NO 2002-004 du 3 octobre 2002 relative à l'élection des députés à l'Assemblée nationale, [www] http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/MG/Loi%20organique%20no%202002-004.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 14 Jun 2010).

ORDONNANCE NO 2001-002 du 29 aoât 2001 portant loi organique relative à l'élection du Président, [www] http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/MG/madagscar-ordonnance-no-2010-003-2010-in-french/at_download/file [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 6 Jul 2010).

ORDONNANCE NO 2010-003 du 17 mars 2010 portant loi organique relative au Code électoral, [www] http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/africa/MG/madagscar-ordonnance-no-2010-003-2010-in-french/at_download/file [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 1 Jul 2010).