The Rajoelina administration starts its electoral operation

The national identification cards issue has a double political stake for the Rajoelina mobility’s regime. First stake: it is about repairing an administrative default which has been going worse year after year, election after election. Revealed by the Development and Ethics Club, the number of 3,5 millions of Malagasy citizens with no national identification card became an incentive for the president of the HAT. Andry Rajoelina madi it an argument there to disparage the previous elections’ legitimacy, and especially a reason to grant legitimacy to those meant to pave his way to the Republic’s presidency.  

The second stake is obviously political. Without national identification cards, 3,5 million voters have been left out of the electoral list. These new voters previously excluded by the system happen to be easy propaganda targets for a party propelled from the municipal to the national scene by the magic of a half military half civilian led putsch. The renewal of the electorate would potentially grant the TGV a larger place beside the three other political mobilities, whose leaders are vehemently wanted out of the presidential race by Andry Rajoelina.  

The national identification card operation’s sensitization campaign is already capturing the spotlight all over the waves. The HAT has belittled its ambitions. The operation, dimmed to be lasting a couple of months from January 12th, 2010, will not turn out 3,5 but 1,5 million cards. In the same way, the idea of a biometric identification card is being dropped in the pit’s deepest depths, and paper documents are back on the front page. The basic operation was unlikely from scratch; technical expertise, time and financial support have never been available to such an end.  

The national identification card operation is officially being launched in the rural Commune of Miary in the former province of Tulear, where more than 500 000 citizens aged 18 and more are targeted. The administration is moving closer to the population this time around. The identification card operation is also followed by a set of additional judgments aiming at providing birth certificates to adults. Many farmers have absolutely no administrative identity. The administration is making the move with a tools kit to ease the task.  As an example, it is possible to be photographed free from charges if the citizen has no ID photo. No contribution would be asked in return.  

This identification card operation’ genuine interest is the enrolment of all 18 years old aged Malagasy on the electoral list. The Rajoelina administration’s real intention is not yet quite clear. On one hand, identification cards, the paramount tool to vote, are being shared out to citizens. On the other hand, the thorough renewal of the electoral list is likely to lead to the printing of new electoral cards.  

As the two months deadline to March 20th, 2010’s vote is, as a matter of fact, too short, would the former ID cards still be valid, or would the electoral card officially be declared non compulsory or simply useless? In any case, the census of the population held by beginning of this year is closely being linked to the census of voters. The electoral file will, at least, be computerized thanks to those updates. Until there however, the Rajoelina administration has given not a shadow of pledge of its unilateral electoral processes’ infallibility.