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Madagascar: African Union will not recognize Rajoelina as President
The African Union has said it will not recognize Andry Rajoelina as Madagascar’s president if he wins July’s presidential election, piling more pressure on the incumbent leader not to stand.
Rajoelina plunged the country into a still-unresolved political crisis in 2009 when he seized power with military support in what the African Union called a coup. The ensuing turmoil has stunted investment both local and foreign and badly hurt economic growth.
In a statement after a late-night meeting on Thursday, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council said: “Perpetrators of unconstitutional change of government cannot participate in the elections organized to restore democratic order.
“Council stresses that the African Union will not recognize the Malagasy authorities which would be elected in violation of the relevant African Unoin and SADC (Southern African Development Community) decisions,” it added.
Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana, the man he unseated from power, both bowed to regional pressure in January and pledged not to stand in the election, in a deal brokered by the SADC.
But Rajoelina, 38, said this month that deal was broken when the wife of Ravalomanana, Lalao Ravalomana, said she would run.
The African Union called the candidacies of Rajoelina, Lalao Ravalomanana and former president Didier Ratsiraka “illegitimate”, indicating the bloc would not recognize any of the trio as a legitimate leader.
Rajoelina, Lalao Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka ignored a request from the SADC last week to withdraw their candidacies.
Source: Reuters