UN and AU monitor electoral preparations in Madagascar
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Madagascar Tribune
A joint UN and African Union mission met the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches of Madagascar to examine preparations for the 2027 elections. Citizen consultations have already trained teams in six pilot districts before a gradual rollout, according to Madagascar Tribune.
The joint mission of the UN and the African Union held talks on Thursday 12 November with the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches of Madagascar (FFKM) on the electoral consultation process. Discussions notably focused on the mechanism planned to gather citizens’ proposals in local authorities, according to Madagascar Tribune.
FFKM officials said teams of three people had completed their training in six pilot districts. Their deployment is then expected to gradually expand to the rest of the country, with consultations starting in fokontany and communes before moving up to districts and regions, according to Madagascar Tribune.
The delegation, led by Parfait Onanga-Anyanga for the UN and Mohamed Idriss Farah for the African Union, also met Madagascar’s minister in charge of Refoundation, Hanitra Razafimanantsoa, as well as representatives of SIAP. The two organisations are notably examining the conditions for organising the elections, the reliability of the electoral register, the independence of institutions, vote counting and the settlement of disputes, according to Madagascar Tribune.
The 12 November meeting came three days after the conclusions of preparatory consultations on the elections were delivered, held on 9 and 10 November at CCI Ivato. Colonel Michaël Randrianirina had reaffirmed his intention to organise the first elections in 2027, with the constitutional referendum to precede the presidential election according to the authorities’ stated approach. It also follows steps undertaken with the training of national consultation stakeholders, launched on 3 October, and comes after Randrianirina backed the consultation on 14 October, according to Madagascar Tribune.
