PRE-CAMPAIGN RHETORIC HEATS UP IN MADAGASCAR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANTANANARIVO 001269 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/FO, INR/AA, AND DRL PARIS FOR D'ELIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EAID PINR MA SUBJECT: PRE-CAMPAIGN RHETORIC HEATS UP IN MADAGASCAR REF: A) ANTANANARIVO 1261 B) ANTANANARIVO 1186 ANTANANARI 00001269 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: With three days to go before the official presidential campaign season kicks off November 12, Ambassador McGee has individually met 11 of the 14 candidates. The pre-election rhetoric is heating up among the presidential hopefuls but, with a few notable exceptions, most have failed to offer a concrete vision for the future. Rather, their discourse remains focused on the perceived past and present transgressions of the current government, as well as flaws in the electoral process. In what comes off sounding like coordinated talking points, several opposition candidates have emphasized that it is the international donors' duty to ensure a smooth election process (ref A). Further, they assert the international community will be responsible for the potentially violent crisis they claim is sure to ensue if President Ravalomanana is reelected. Government of Madagascar (GOM) officials have responded to such criticism by encouraging politicians and voters to participate in election preparations, while laying the groundwork for the upcoming campaign season from a political and security standpoint. At present, few candidates have the sophistication or national standing to give President Ravalomanana a run for his money. END SUMMARY. - - - - - - - - - - - - - IT ALL GOES BACK TO 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) The root of most candidates' malcontent lies in the 2002 political crisis between then incumbent President Didier Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana. After the nation teetered at the brink of civil war for some months, the High Constitutional Court ultimately ruled that Ravalomanana had won the majority of the popular vote in the first round of elections, making him the legal President of Madagascar. Opposition parties have since called for national reconciliation and amnesty for their supporters imprisoned for committing acts of violence in the 2002 crisis and for those who fled into exile. They insist amnesty is a prerequisite to restore peaceful relations between Malagasy living on the coast ("Cotier") and the historically dominant ethnic group from the highlands ("Merina"). However, throughout his tenure, President Ravalomanana has largely ignored political reform in favor of economic development -- the repercussions of which are becoming evident in the run-up to the presidential election. - - - - - - - - - - - A CASE OF SOUR GRAPES - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (U) With unofficial pre-season campaigning well underway, the 14 presidential candidates are jockeying for position. With the exception of four candidates--President Ravalomanana, Roindefo Monja, Elia Ravelomanantsoa, and Pastor Jules Randrianjoary -- most of the hopefuls have failed to offer a platform for the future (ref B). Rather, their discourse remains focused on perceived government transgressions of the past and present, as well as alleged flaws in the electoral process. The general tenor of opposition candidate complaints is that, without the implementation of the following reforms, these elections will not be free and fair: a blanket amnesty for those arrested in the 2002 political crisis (especially former President Ratsiraka and former Vice Prime Minister Pierrot Rajaonarivelo); the adoption of a single ballot; changes to the electoral code; the distribution of identity cards (a prerequisite for registered voters) to the over one million Malagasy who lack them; an independent national electoral commission; and laws regulating political party activities. Claiming the December 3 election date is unconstitutional, 11 candidates continue to demand the election be postponed, the president resign, and a transitional government be established. Recognizing these requests are likely to go nowhere, candidates are gearing up for the start of the official campaign season November 12. ¶4. (SBU) Some hopefuls have criticized the GOM for failing to initiate dialogue with opposition candidates and for not undertaking requested electoral reforms, despite calls from opposition parties, civil society groups and the international community. The GOM's decision to eschew the single ballot for the traditional multiple ballot system has already opened the door to accusations of fraud and corruption, particularly from those candidates who cannot fund the printing or distribution of the over seven million ballots needed for their candidacy. At the same time, there have been reports that private money is pouring in from Paris to bolster certain candidates and buy votes in this easily-manipulated system. French Ambassador Le Roy privately reassured Ambassador McGee that, while it is possible Malagasy expatriates in Paris and their French ANTANANARI 00001269 002.2 OF 003 businesses may be supporting the campaigns, there is not a drop of money in French government support for specific candidates. ¶5. (U) A number of candidates accuse government officials of other forms of fraud. One candidate alleged that school teachers in Fianarantsoa were being driven to TIM (President Ravalomanana's political party) meetings in government vehicles. Candidates also complain of unequal media coverage. The president undoubtedly enjoys an advantage as the private owner of the MBS radio and television networks with nationwide coverage. The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the equal partition of free public airtime to which each candidate is entitled starting on November 12: five minutes for radio and five minutes for television every other day. Most candidates have also mentioned the logistical hurdles and the alleged lack of accuracy in the GOM's efforts to create Madagascar's first electronic voter registration lists as obstacles to the conduct of fair and transparent elections. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) Several opposition candidates--particularly Manandafy Rakotonirina and Pety Rakotoniaina--emphasize it is the international donors' duty to ensure a smooth election process. Believing the political conditions that precipitated the election crisis in 2001 are largely still in place, these candidates assert that Madagascar is on the cusp of a potentially violent conflict -- in the words of Rakotoniaina, "there will be blood." They assert the international community will be directly responsible for the potentially violent crisis they claim is sure to ensue if President Ravalomanana is reelected. Four weeks before a single vote has been cast, a handful of candidates and their followers have already deemed a Ravalomanana victory as an automatic catalyst for crisis. In response to this sense of unrest, the President has held a number of meetings of top security officials in preparation for the upcoming elections. ¶7. (SBU) Candidates have also been drawing political parallels between Madagascar's current situation and that of Cote d'Ivoire and Rwanda to convince the international donors of the need to pressure the GOM for reforms -- comparisons the international community have quickly rejected. A small number of candidates -- encouraged by exiled political leader Pierrot Rajaonarivelo from Paris -- continue to play on the historical tension between the Cotier and the Merina as a lightning rod of discontent against the current Merina President and his administration. - - - - - - GOM EFFORTS - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) With significant donor assistance, the GOM is making slow and steady progress on election preparations. Madagascar's first ever electronic voter registration lists are heading into the second stage of revision; the CNE is registering and training approximately 3,000 domestic election observers for deployment around the country; the Ministry of Interior and CNE are working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to prepare public education campaigns for voters; and tamper-proof ballot boxes are being installed in over 17,000 polling stations. However, international donors have privately expressed concerns that election preparations are not progressing as quickly or effectively as hoped. While we are seeing steady progress in the verification of the electronic voter registration lists in urban areas and more affluent provinces, there are also consistent reports the verification process is struggling in more remote regions plagued with poor communication infrastructure. With less than a month until election day, certain elements of the public awareness and voter education campaigns have not yet been launched. Such problems and delays are consistently pointed out by opposition candidates to argue the government is deliberately dragging its feet in executing the logistics for transparent elections. Much of this perception of government inertia can be explained by legitimate capacity problems; however, on certain issues - such as the use of a single ballot for all candidates - the GOM appears to have deliberately passed on the chance to hold a more transparent election. - - - - COMMENT - - - - ¶9. (SBU) Ravalomanana's tenure has been marked by significant economic reforms, but his failure to implement political reforms over the past four years -- specifically with regard to the ANTANANARI 00001269 003.2 OF 003 electoral framework -- has opened the government to predictable criticism in the run-up to the election. Acknowledging the need for further reforms in the future, Ambassador McGee encouraged candidates to make these elections as free, fair, transparent and peaceful as possible as a base to further improve future elections. A majority of the 11 presidential candidates who met with Ambassador McGee claim to seek better living standards for the Malagasy people, and all expressed a willingness to work with the United States if elected. In the intensely personal politics of Madagascar, a small number of opposition candidates appear determined to create some degree of trouble in the upcoming elections, if only to embarrass President Ravalomanana on the international stage. Their degree of success in this effort may well depend on how his administration and security services react - or overreact - to these provocations. END COMMENT.