Africa-Press. The current government in Madagascar has announced that the first vote in the country will take place in July 2027, as part of a process aimed at determining the future constitutional framework, with presidential elections to be organized before the end of the same year.
The announcement was made by Randrianirina during a meeting with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, on the sidelines of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban, South Africa.
Randrianirina stated that the first vote in Madagascar is scheduled for July 2027 regarding the future constitutional framework, without explicitly using the term “referendum.” He also confirmed that the presidential elections will be held before the end of the same year.
The date announced by the government represents a slight adjustment, not exceeding a few weeks, compared to the timeline provided by the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) last May. The possibility of holding presidential elections before the end of 2027 was already included in the “Reconstruction Program” presented by the authorities to the Southern African Development Community at the end of February.
Before reaching the stage of organizing the vote, the authorities must complete two main pathways. The first pathway involves organizing a national consultation, which should start at the lowest administrative level, namely the local level, before later moving to the national level.
The second pathway concerns organizing a political dialogue that brings together various parties and political forces, aiming to reach a common ground that allows for the preparation of elections widely accepted by different parties.
However, the national consultation process still faces uncertainty, as it was supposed to begin in August, but has not yet received a specific topic or clear timeline outlining its implementation stages.
The government announcement has drawn criticism from Generation Z activists, who believe that setting a date for the elections does not represent real progress in light of the lack of clarity regarding the steps leading up to the voting process.
One member of the Generation Z movement stated that the government announcement does not include anything new, pointing to the ongoing delay in launching the national consultation, which has not yet begun even at the level of local unit leaders known as “Fokontany.”
The activist believes that uncertainty still prevails regarding the political and constitutional pathway in the country, especially given the lack of a defined topic for the national consultation or a clear timeline for its implementation, despite the government’s announcement of a preliminary date for the first vote in July 2027 and presidential elections before the end of the same year.
