Madagascar: Voter registration and voter's rolls

Updated July 2010

Past registration figures:

Voting statistics overview

Ordonnance no 2010-003 of March 2010 removed responsibility for the registration of voters and the compilation of voter's rolls from the Ministry of the Interior, whose responsibility it had been hitherto, and placed these processes in the hands of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI, Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendante). However, the final and provisional articles require that the Ministry of the Interior continue to prepare for the undertaking of polling operations until the CENI has been able to roll out its organisational structures (Ordonnance no 2010-003, 157, 158).

Annual and special revisions of the voter's rolls

The Ministry of the Interior accomplished the computerisation of the voters' rolls that enabled a continuous system of voter registration to be implemented (see Voter registration and voter's rolls prior to March 2010 for details; Ordonnance no 2010-003, 25, 33). Ordonnance no 2010-003 (Articles 25, 26) requires that the voters' rolls be updated annually between 1 December and 31 January to add to the rolls those who were omitted and those who recently qualified to vote and to remove for the rolls those who have died, who are legally disqualified from voting, who have left the voting area (Fokontany) or who were invalidly registered. The voters' rolls are published, objections received and processed, amendments are made where necessary and the final rolls are proclaimed on 15 April; they remain in force until 15 April of the following year (Ordonnance no 2010-003, 28-30).

Ordonnance no 2010-003 (Article 34) provides for the voters' rolls to be updated prior to any poll, but only to add newly qualified voters to the rolls and to remove dead or disqualified voters from them. The update begins 48 hours after the proclamation of the poll, is suspended 35 days before the poll (for publication, inspection, objections and correction) and the voters' rolls are finally closed 15 days before election day.

Franchise and registration qualifications

All 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.

Voter registration and voters' cards

Registration is undertaken by agents designated by the CENI who enter the voter onto the voters' roll on proof of identity and issue the voter with a voter's card as proof of registration (Ordonnance no 2010-003, 59-61). The following information must be captured on the voters' roll (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 10):

  • registration number;
  • full names;
  • date and place of birth;
  • father's nationality;
  • number and place of delivery of national identity card; and
  • place of residence

Although Article 94 requires that a voter present both a national identity card and a voter registration card to obtain entry to a polling station Article 64 stipulates that every registered voter who can prove identity by the presentation of a national identity card has the right to vote. Should a voter lose a voter's card the voter should notify the registration officer, so that the relevant Presiding Officer can be warned and fraudulent use of it may be avoided, and so that the voter may be issued with a receipt as evidence of registration (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 63).

Compilation of voter's rolls

At the Fokontany (lowest) level the registration process and compilation of the voters' roll for the Fokontany is undertaken by a commission appointed by the CENI or its subordinate structures (see National Independent Electoral Commission for the details on these) consisting of a CENI representative and four Fokontany representatives from amongst nominees of bodies conducting civic education or electoral observation and of political parties (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 8). The rolls for the various Fokontanys within a territory are finalised by a commission at this level comprised of a representative of the CENI (who chairs the commission), Mayors, District Heads, a representative of each party or candidate and a representative of each NGO engaged in civic education or in electoral observation (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 11). The absence of representatives from parties or NGOs from a territorial commission is not, however, an impediment to its functioning (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 12).

Voter's rolls publication, inspection, objections and amendment

Once voters' rolls are completed at territorial level the roll for each Fokontany is made available at the Fokontany office for public inspection by voters, political parties and candidates and their availability to the public is advertised at public service offices and main areas of public assembly (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 13). Objections to entries must be made within 20 days of posting by voters or other interested bodies such as administrative and judicial authorities, NGOs and political parties; voters who fail to check the roll at this point forgo their right to raise objections at a later point (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Articles 16, 17). An objection to an entry in a voters' roll is made to the relevant Fokontany office where it is registered and a receipt is issued and the objection is forwarded to the territorial commission for resolution; the last must be achieved within seven days (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 19). A voter whose entry is disputed by another must be informed of the objection by CENI officials in writing and be allowed to respond (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 18). If the objection is not resolved within seven days it is handed to a subcommittee, which has 30 days from receipt of the objection to make a ruling (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 19). The subcommittee is comprised of (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Article 20):

  • the representative of the CENI at the territorial level who acts as chair;
  • the mayor;
  • two councillors; and
  • two voters from the relevant Fokontany.

The decision of the subcommittee must be made to the interested parties who may lodge an appeal to the court of first instance within 15 days of receipt of the notification, as may a party who has not received notification of a decision within the 30 day deadline (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Articles 20, 21). The court must rule on the matter within 10 days and the ruling cannot be appealed (Ordonnance no 2010-003, Articles 22).

References

ORDONNANCE NO 2010-003 du 17 mars 2010 portant loi organique relative au Code électoral (thorougly amends Loi organique no 2000-014), [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 5 Jul 2010).