Marc Ravalomanana

Marc Ravalomanana (December 12th 1949 -) is the president of Madagascar since the May 6th 2002.

Biography

It was born with Imerinkasinina in the suburbs from Tananarive, the capital of Madagascar, is married and has 4 children. It belongs to the ethnos group Merina which is characterized by apparent safeguarding from ancestral natures indonésiens. Autodidact, it directs the small family dairy and transforms it, with the assistance of the World Bank and under recommendation of the Malagasy government at the time, in an industrial company of dimension internationale : the group Tiko S.a. This company created 5.000 direct uses and nearly 100.000 indirect employment. He is regarded as an example of success, though its management of company cannot be detached from a reputation of autocratism and discrimination with respect to the candidates with the use of African phenotype. It is at least what its enemies claim that in return, one can suspect of especially reproaching him for having origins " non-africaines" , from the point of view of the " policy of the races" preached by Galliéni at the beginning of the mode colonial and perpetuated then by holding of the " cause côtière" until the fall of Didier Ratsiraka.

In December 1999, he is elected mayor of Tananarive, out of the political parties, under the colors of the association Tiako Iarivo (I like Iarivo). He engages the rehabilitation of the capital and lance of immense operations of cleansing and large building sites of urban infrastructures, with like slogan : the “ fight against poverty ”.

Marc Ravalomanana became in October 2001, vice-president and the financial main thing of the Église of Jesus-Christ in Madagascar (FJKM, reformed church), one of the four pillars of the Conseil of the Christian churches of Madagascar (FFKM). He knew to be pressed on the religious currents, formidable relays of propaganda to Madagascar for which does not have a political party. Officially, it chairs only one association called Tiako' I Madagasikara (I like Madagascar).

While announcing its candidature for the presidency with Imerinkasinina, its native village, on the square of Protestant temple FJKM local, it was placed from the start in a current of inspiration politico-nun, knowing very well that most of the 15 million Madagascans are of Christian religion and that 45% of the Christians are the faithful ones of his church, reformed church FJKM.

The December 16th 2001 takes place the first turn of the presidential elections of Madagascar. The results, according to the ministry for the Interior, at the head give Marc Ravalomanana with 46,44% of the votes in front of the outgoing president Didier Ratsiraka, 40,61%. These figures are disputed by the Support group with Marc Ravalomanana and his organization of countryside “ Tiako' I Madagasikara ”, which made their own collection of results. They claim that Ravalomanana is victorious with the first turn with approximately 53% of the votes and claim a confrontation of the original official reports of which they have a specimen. But the partisans of Didier Ratsiraka refuse, which causes a recrudescence of the popular demonstrations of support for Marc Ravalomanana. With most extremely of the crisis, the number of the demonstrators with Antananarivo is estimated at nearly 1.500.000 people , that is to say the third approximately inhabitants of antananarivo and its surroundings immediate (about four to five million hearts).

A second turn is then planned for the month of February 2002 but in front of the extent of the demonstrations and the refusal of the partisans of Ravalomanana, this one could not take place. Meanwhile, on February 10th, the mandate of Ratsiraka comes to a end and the capacity legally becomes vacant. Under the popular pressure, the February 22nd, Ravalomanana is thus proclaimed president of the Republic by the legal authorities of the capital (among which several members of the High Constitutional court) and lends oath in front of more than 100.000 partisans. But the foreign chancelleries refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Ravalomanana. To try to resolve the situation, a meeting thus is organized in Dakar (Senegal) on April 18th, 2002 between the two candidates, in the presence of 5 five Heads of African States. It is decided there to proceed to a new calculation of the voices obtained by each of the two candidates, on the basis of official report held by each part. A secret agreement (verbal!) would have however envisaged the proclamation of a ballotage and the organization of a second turn, possibly favorable to Ravalomanana. But on April 29th, 2002, after having proceeded to a new calculation of the results, the High Constitutional court, restored in its prerogatives of before the elections (two weeks before the first turn indeed, Ratsiraka arbitrarily renews of it the composition with the profit of its only partisans!) proclaim victorious Ravalomanana with the first turn with 51,46% of the votes. Although repudiated, Didier Ratsiraka refuses his ousting and folds up himself with Toamasina, the main city of the ethnos group Betsimisaraka to which it belongs by his mother, and which it proclaims new capital of a republic secessionist. Starting from this port city, it directs a blockade of the central provinces by drawing up road blocks while making dynamite the bridges and other routes transportation. These true acts of war cause a serious shortage on the highlands which would have involved the death of approximately 10.000 people, by malnutrition or lack of care. Persecutions of inhabitants originating in the country Merina and Betsileo, leading in several cases to murders, are also organized in many coastal regions.

June 26th finally, the United States of America fully recognize the legitimacy of the election of Ravalomanana, whereas France decides only on July 3rd there, by dispatching Dominique de Villepin, then Foreign Minister with Antananarivo. July 7th, the troops legalists invest the last bastion of the partisans of Ratsiraka and put an end to the open crisis. To escape justice, Ratsiraka, and many former dignitaries of its mode flee then abroad, in particular in France, where the Malagasy authorities abstain from continuing them.

Marc Ravalomanana, beginner in policy, profited from many supports of parties and personalities, like the former Prime Minister for the president Albert Zafy, Norbert Ratsirahonana, and Manandafy Rakotonirina , the leader of MFM (Movement for the progress of Madagascar). The MFM predicted that the president Didier Ratsiraka would not be solved with the verdict of the ballot boxes and spoke, already, of the need for forming a government-(a). Most of the Malagasy army supported also the opponent, as certain governors of provinces which have exorbitant capacities but which do not have the means with the measurement of these capacities. It was the case of the governor of the province of Tananarive, hearth of the dispute, Pascal Rakotomavo , which blocked the resolutions issued by the president Ratsiraka.

Suspended OAU after the inversion of the mode of Didier Ratsiraka, Madagascar reinstates the Panafrican institution after a new decision of the Heads of State of the African Union in July 2002. President Marc Ravalomanana must consolidate his legitimacy, from now on internationally recognized, by the organization of elections and by ensuring the participation of all the lifeblood of the country.

The October 12th 2005, it escapes from little with an accident from the helicopter which transports it in the area of Fianarantsoa.

December 3rd 2006, Marc Ravalomanana was re-elected with the first turn of a presidential election whose legality is disputed by the opposition. It was however, in an open letter published by the French daily newspaper Libération, classified with the number of the “democratic Heads of State autoproclamés” by the Malagasy writer Jean-Luc Raharimanana.

Random links: