Referendum: the so named international observers appointed by the HAT appearing satisfied

The French mission which came to observe the referendum on Movember 17th 2010 congratulate the CENI and the HAT for having convincingly drawn crowds to join polling stations, a personal estimation based on visible queues in the afternoon in Antananarivo.

Leading the “international delegation” (HAT dixit) of observers in the run of the referendum, Jean-François Mancel noticed the Malagasy people´s will to express its choice by voting. The reality is nowhere close to that. There was no excited rush towards polling stations; in spite of various  democratically challengeable  maneuvers, the HAT failed to draw less than 50% of voters.

The participation rate is the HAT´s genuine issue since the NO vote was turned baseless by the oppositon´s successful boycott campaign. But the self proclaimed international observers are looking down on details like irregularities and do congratulate the HAT and its electoral commission for their positive reaction: “There`s a will to restore order into electoral registers” argued Jean Francois Mancel.

Thousands of voters were repelled on the polling day for being kept out of electoral registers, everything but a boost for the participation rate. The HAT decided as a response to alter the electoral code in order to extend the polling stations´ opening period, leaving time to the CENI in order to extend electoral registers. Nobody in the country´s short history has ever been allowed to vote a constitution with a simple residence certificate. In the end the truth is, the challenge is lost.

One sided and illegal decisions aiming at boosting a disastrous participation rate have apparently been forgotten. The “international” observers retained the authorities´ “good recovery of a solution in order to allow the people to vote, even if the rules had to be changed” stated Jean Francois Mancel.

The French mission is going to produce a positive report to the French new Foreign Affairs minister, Michele Alliot Marie, then to the French minister in charge of cooperation. The so named report will be used to internationally defend the HAT cause. Jean Francois Mancel insisted on the following point: “we have to hold the Malagasy citizens` will to join polling stations in account”.

The UMP party´s deputy close to Nicolas Sarkozy is not covering up France´s interests for the HAT referendum. In his blog, he wrote that “the French presence in Madagascar is the world´s number 2 with 25000 of our nationals. This referendum is the first step of the Great Isle´s recovery of a constitutional order since the president flew the country after having been driven out by an important popular movement”. A putsch set to French measurements isn´t it?