Malagasy constitutional referendum, 2007
Encyclopedia
A constitutional referendum was held in Madagascar
on 4 April 2007. The proposed changes, which voters were asked to approve or reject as a whole, included:
Early results, with 73.18% of the vote counted, showed that turnout was around 42.43%. The referendum appeared likely to be passed because 74.93% of the voters in Antananarivo
were in favour of the amendments, even though it seemed likely that in four of the five other provinces the "no" vote might have won. According to results released on 7 April, with votes from 85.47% of polling stations counted, 75.24% were in favor of the proposed changes. Roland Ratsiraka
, who placed third in the 2006 presidential election
and opposed the proposed changes, alleged fraud.
Official results were released on 11 April, but it was necessary for the Constitutional High Court to validate the results in order for them to be final, and this happened on 27 April.
The Judged By Your Work Party
(AVI) chose to boycott the referendum, saying that it was deceitful for the referendum to describe a "yes" vote as being a vote for national development.
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
on 4 April 2007. The proposed changes, which voters were asked to approve or reject as a whole, included:
- expansion of presidential powers in cases of emergency
- abolition of the six autonomous provincesProvinces of Madagascar||Madagascar is divided into six "autonomous provinces" :#Antananarivo Province#Antsiranana Province#Fianarantsoa Province#Mahajanga Province#Toamasina Province#Toliara Province...
in favor of 22 smaller areas (faritra or regions)Regions of Madagascar||Madagascar is divided into 22 regions . These formerly second-tier administrative divisions became the first-level administrative divisions when the former six provinces were dissolved on 4 October 2009:- See also :* Subdivisions of Madagascar...
, a change that is intended to facilitate regional development - adoption of EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as an official language (in addition to the two existing official languages, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and MalagasyMalagasy languageMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
) - removal of the phrase "secular state" from the Constitution
Early results, with 73.18% of the vote counted, showed that turnout was around 42.43%. The referendum appeared likely to be passed because 74.93% of the voters in Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
were in favour of the amendments, even though it seemed likely that in four of the five other provinces the "no" vote might have won. According to results released on 7 April, with votes from 85.47% of polling stations counted, 75.24% were in favor of the proposed changes. Roland Ratsiraka
Roland Ratsiraka
Iarovana Roland Ratsiraka is a Malagasy politician.Born in Antananarivo, Roland is the nephew of former President Didier Ratsiraka. He studied both in Madagascar and in France, before founding several companies....
, who placed third in the 2006 presidential election
Malagasy presidential election, 2006
Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 3 December 2006. President Marc Ravalomanana, in office since he prevailed in a dispute over election results in 2002, ran for re-election...
and opposed the proposed changes, alleged fraud.
Official results were released on 11 April, but it was necessary for the Constitutional High Court to validate the results in order for them to be final, and this happened on 27 April.
The Judged By Your Work Party
Judged By Your Work Party
Judged By Your Work Party is a political party in Madagascar.The AVI backed Marc Ravalomanana, the opposition candidate in the disputed December 2001 presidential election, and after Ravalomanana became President, the AVI joined the government...
(AVI) chose to boycott the referendum, saying that it was deceitful for the referendum to describe a "yes" vote as being a vote for national development.