Challenges of Election Management & Prospects for Reforms in Madagascar

22 May 2008, Hotel Le Colbert, Antananarivo

This workshop is the first post-election review ever organized by EISA in Madagascar. It is a follow up to the work undertaken by the teams sent to observe the elections in the country in December 2006 and September 2007. The overall goal of the workshop is to unravel the election management challenges facing Madagascar and propose appropriate reform measures. The specific objectives are to:

• Provide a space for the main stakeholders to reflect critically on the legal and institutional framework for elections in Madagascar;
• Identify areas of the electoral system that pose problem and need improvement;
• Provide recommendations for electoral reforms, so as to comply with the 2003 Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO) and the 2004 SADC Guidelines and Principles Governing Democratic Elections.

The workshop will address the following topics:

• Historical overview of elections in Madagascar
• Legal and institutional framework for elections
• Election management framework
• Constituency delimitation, voter registration process and management of voters' roll
• The ballot system
• Voting behaviour and voter turnout
• Voter and civic education
• Gender equality

The event will gather 50 participants drawn from a list of various stakeholders including political parties, civil society organizations, election authorities, government officials at the central and local levels, MPs (House of Assembly and Senate), the Judiciary, the media, the donor community and development agencies, academia and traditional leadership.

This activity forms part of the programme work of EISA's project, Consolidating Democratic Governance in the SADC region.