Authorities in Madagascar declared on Tuesday that an election will be held by the end of the year to either re-elect President Andry Rajoelina or choose a replacement.
“The head of government summons voters to the polls,” on November 9 for the “first round of presidential election,” and on “December 20 for the second round, if there is one,” said a statement from Prime Minister Christian Ntsay’s office.
Initiated by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the dates had already been suggested. On the vast island in the Indian Ocean, tensions are high as Rajoelina’s dual citizenship is a subject of debate.
Rajoelina, who won the final vote in a 2018 election marred by accusations of fraud, was born in the town of Antsirabe in central Madagascar but surreptitiously became a French citizen in 2014.
According to local law, anyone who obtains a foreign citizenship automatically forfeits their Madagascan nationality and is ineligible to run for public office in any elections.
However, Rajoelina’s TGV party vehemently disputes the legal interpretation, arguing that his dual citizenship does not preclude his candidacy.
The military assisted the 49-year-old Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, in removing Marc Ravalomanana in 2009.
After defeating his bitter rival Ravalomanana in the 2018 two-round election, he was re-elected as president in 2019.
His government is accused of crushing dissent in one of the world’s poorest countries by the opposition and rights organisations.
