■ Constitutional history of Madagascar

Although the present head of State has self-proclaimed himself, Madagascar is usually a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Senate and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The political situation in Madagascar has been marked by struggle for control. After Madagascar gained independence from France in 1960, assassinations, military coups and disputed elections featured prominently.

Didier Ratsiraka took power in a military coup in 1975 and ruled until 2001, with a short break when he was ousted in the early 1990s. When Marc Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka both claimed victory after presidential elections in December 2001, Ratsiraka's supporters tried to blockade the capital, Antananarivo, which was pro-Ravalomanana. After eight months of sporadic violence with considerable economic disruption, a recount in April 2002 led the High Constitutional Court to pronounce Ravalomanana president, but it was not until July that Ratsiraka fled to France and Ravalomanana gained control of the country.

Internal conflict in Madagascar had been minimal in the years that followed and since 2002, Ravalomanana and his party, Tiako-I-Madagasikara (TIM), have dominated political life. In an attempt to restrict the power and influence of the president, the prime minister and the 150-seat parliament have been given greater power in recent years.

Tension since was generally associated with elections. A presidential election took place in December 2006 with some protests over worsening standards of living, despite a government drive to eradicate poverty. Calls by a retired army general in November 2006 for Ravalomanana to step down were said to have been 'misinterpreted' as a coup attempt.

2009 Malagasy protests

The latest, and ongoing, spate of violence pitted then-President Marc Ravalomanana against Andry Rajoelina, former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. Since the power tussle started on 26 January, more than 170 people were killed. Rajoelina mobilized his supporters to take to the streets of Antananarivo to demand Ravalomanana's ousting on the grounds of his alleged "autocratic" style of government.

Ravalomanana's resignation

After losing support of the military and under intense pressure from Rajoelina, President Ravalomanana resigned on 17 March 2009. Ravalomanana assigned his powers to a military council loyal to himself headed by Vice-Admiral Hyppolite Ramaroson. The military called the move by Ravalomanana a "ploy" and said that it would support Rajoelina as leader. Rajoelina had already declared himself the new leader a month earlier and has since assumed the role of acting President.

Constitutional referendum and the 2010 Constitution

One of the promises of Rajoelina, on assuming power, was that a new constitution to be approved by a national referendum would be drafted. The referendum, the eighth in the country’s history was held on November 17, 2011. According to the Higher Constitutional Council which validated the results, 2,657,962 out of the 3,761,977 or 74, 19 percent who voted approved the proposed constitution for Madagascar’s IV Republic. The total number of registered voters was 7,151,223 and the turnout was 52.61 percent.

According to the new fundamental law, candidates for presidential elections must have lived in Madagascar for at least six months prior to the elections. It also lowered the age limit for presidential candidates from forty to thirty five years. In addition, it allowed for the interim president to stay in power until new elections are held.