Greetings from Madagascar. We ask that you hold Madagascar in
prayer at this time. Below is a letter from the Church of Jesus
Christ in Madagascar (FJKM, the church with which we work) written
to brothers and sisters in Christ in the PC(USA). They’re
asking for prayer and assistance in helping the U.S. government
understand the real situation.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
February 5, 2002
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ in the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.),
Greetings in the name of our Lord! We trust all is well with
you. We rejoice in our work together to witness to the Lord
and bring His kingdom here to Madagascar.
We, your brothers and sisters in Christ from the Church of
Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM) have a request to make of
you on behalf of our nation. We ask you this as the largest
Protestant church in Madagascar with over 4,000 congregations
and 2 million members. We are also a member of the FFKM, the
Malagasy Ecumenical Church Council, which is made up of the
4 largest churches in Madagascar: Catholic, FJKM, Lutheran,
and Anglican. These churches have a combined membership of 6
million people, over one-third of the country’s population.
As you may know, Madagascar had a presidential election on 16
December 2001. The FJKM and the FFKM have long been working
to ensure free and fair elections in Madagascar. At this time,
many events have transpired that concern us and threaten the
democratic outcome of this election. And so now we humbly seek
your help and prayer.
Below we share some of the events surrounding the election
so that you might better understand what has happened and why
we are concerned.
There were six candidates in this election, the leading two
being Didier Ratsiraka (current president) and Marc Ravalomanana
(the mayor of the capital city, Antananarivo, and lay vice-president
of FJKM). While the government refused to have any international
observers, it did permit a national nonpartisan consortium to
monitor the elections at each voting station. The FJKM was a
member of this consortium. The consortium received financial
backing from several European donors, Japan, and the U.S. While
the consortium attempted to place election monitors at every
voting station, the government thwarted this attempt by not
making available the number and location of voting stations
until after the election was over. At this time, there is a
discrepancy of over 1,000 voting stations between Madagascar’s
High Constitutional Court’s count and the government’s
count.
Immediately following voting at each voting station, the votes
were counted in front of the state representative, a representative
of the consortium, and a representative of each candidate. By
law, each candidate could have a representative present. Each
representative observing the count received a signed voting
record from that station. Hence there could be as many as eight
identical copies from each station (one per candidate, consortium,
and state).
There were many irregularities during the campaign period,
on election day, and in the days following the election. The
consortium documented numerous cases in which President Ratsiraka
broke electoral laws and in which the state committed fraud
and intimidated the people. Soon after the election, different
results were reported. With the voting records available to
them, the consortium reported that Ravalomanana received 50.5%
of the vote, the FFKM reported Ravalomanana received 51.1%,
and Ravalomanana’s own party reported that he received
52.5% of the vote. The government, however, reported 46.4% of
the vote going to Ravalomanana. By Malagasy law, any candidate
receiving more than 50% of the vote wins on the first round.
If no candidate receives 50%, then a second round between the
top two candidates is required.
Because of the discrepancies, the consortium brought a request
to compare the different voting records before the High Constitutional
Court (HCC), Madagascar’s supreme court. It also presented
a case to disqualify Ratsiraka for numerous violations of the
electoral laws, including the illegal use of state funds to
finance his campaign. The Malagasy people began demonstrating
peacefully in early January 2002 to ask the HCC to compare the
voting records so that the truth could be found. On 7 January,
soldiers assaulted a peaceful crowd of eighty thousand demonstrators
with tear gas and grenades for two hours. While many were injured,
the crowd did not disperse. Since that time, there have been
no further acts of violence against demonstrators in the capital
city.
On 25 January, the HCC ruled that Ravalomanana received 46.2%
of the vote and that a second election would be held February
24 with the campaign period beginning February 9. The HCC threw
out the accusations of electoral fraud brought against Ratsiraka.
It also refused to compare any of the voting records held by
the consortium, FFKM and Ravalomanana with those of the state.
In addition, many of the voting records presented by the HCC
indicate that the HCC itself committed electoral fraud. Given
these actions of the HCC (the highest legal body in the land),
the opposition movement decided that it would not participate
in the second round of elections unless the voting records from
the first round are compared to ensure fraud-free results.
When the HCC refused to compare the results, Ravalomanana called
for nationwide demonstrations and strikes. The airport, banks
and many businesses have closed to honor the opposition’s
request. Last week over 500,000 people marched peacefully in
the capital city every day to show their support for Ravalomanana
and the democratic process. People all over Madagascar have
been praying and peacefully demonstrating. Over the last month,
millions of people all over the island have sacrificed and quit
work to demonstrate their desire to have their votes fairly
counted and to have a president who is elected by the majority
of the people and not by voter fraud. Many of these people are
poor, but they believe in their right to elect their leader
regardless of economic or educational status.
Last week several international governments including France
and the United States called for a second election based on
the HCC’s results. There was no mention of the need to
compare the voting records from the first election. The United
States called for the second round election to be conducted
in such a manner as to ensure a "free, fair and credible
election outcome" and that the election dispute be resolved
in accordance with "democratic principles, the rule of
law, and the Malagasy constitution." As the highest legal
body in Madagascar is implicated in electoral fraud, the terms
"free, fair and credible election" and "democratic
principles" on one hand and "the rule of law and the
Malagasy constitution" on the other, are contradictory
in the eyes of the Malagasy people. By asking all parties concerned
to respect the decision of the High Constitutional Court, it
appears to the Malagasy people that the United States is siding
with fraud over fairness and repression over democracy and the
will of the people. This confuses people as the United States
is seen as a champion for justice and democracy.
On Monday February 4, nearly 1,500,000 people marched peacefully
in protest in the capital city alone. With or without the support
of the international community, the Malagasy people will stand
firm for free and fair elections, democracy, and the government’s
acceptance of the will of the people. What is going on in Madagascar
is truly a fight to have the democratic process honored. Support
from the international community can help reduce the potential
for violent repression of the peaceful demonstrations and hasten
the advent of a fairly elected government.
We would like to ask you to:
Pray with the Malagasy people: that demonstrations remain peaceful
and bear fruit quickly. That Ratsiraka’s government acknowledges
the legitimate will of the people and does not send the military
against the people. That the international communities show
wisdom in their attempts to support the democratic process in
Madagascar. That justice prevails.
Contact your elected representatives and government officials.
Please help your government understand that the best way to
support the democratic process in Madagascar is to call for
a comparison of the voting records from the December 16 election
to ensure that the will of the Malagasy people be honored. Ask
the United States to issue a statement calling for a comparison
of the first round’s voting records and that a second round
be held only if the comparison shows that no candidate received
50% or more of the vote.
Thank you for joining with us in this time of need. May God’s
words in Amos 5:24 be fulfilled in our nation. "But
let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an
everflowing stream."
May the peace of our Lord bless you as a church and a nation.
In the name of our Lord,
Reverend Edmond Razafimahefa
President of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM)
