Civil society: poor start

Unilaterally or not, the civil society’s Coalition moves forward with the organization of preliminary talks throughout districts before the big national meeting. “Reshuffling the calendar again is off the point “, reiterated Velompanahy Aristide. According to the Coalition’s leaders, going forward with the preparation is compulsory regarding the situation. A deal with the Alliance, the other civil society’s group, is not to be ruled out. But the movement led  by Lalao Randriamampionona among others, will have to comply.   

In between, the front stage is undisputedly belonging to the civil society’s coalition. The stake of this struggle between both groups is political. The Alliance defends a stand, somehow supportive of that of the three Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka and Zafy spheres, which wants a political agreement to manage the transition, namely the Maputo charter, prior to any elections. The Coalition is, on the other hand, supporting Andry Rajoelina’s plans, after the failure of several unilateral roadmaps. The dictating authority’s leader hopes to earn legitimacy through the organization of lections without having to deal with any political agreement.  

The civil society is, on this account, equally compelled to recover a shadow of common ground, as the same blocks of opposed ideas are struggling to come together. In face of the Coalition’s stiff resistance, Lalao Randriampionona seemingly pulled back. According to the Alliance’s spokeswoman, finding a consensus is what really matters. Meanwhile, the Coalition is remaining in full control of the preliminary talks or” dinika santatra “. It conducted the training of agents supposed to organize and monitor the event in the districts. Only the organizers’ neutrality and respect for ethics are being presented as pledges.   

The Constitution at the heart of the proceedings  

The Coalition changed the rules, and invited official representatives of associations and political parties to the” dinika santatra”. Simple citizens dimmed to do nothing but extending the lists are off the point. During the national assemblies and conferences, the overwhelming number of participants was held as a sign of legitimacy by the HAT, and not as a problem. The Alliance is on its way to be losing ground in the proceedings, much likely to be oriented toward the future constitution, and no more on the settlement of the political crisis.  

The president of the constitutional Advisory Committee confirmed that the constitutional draft would be debated during the preliminary talks. Could the HAT succeed in enforcing the conduct of a referendum, the recovery of the negotiation table, so much feared by the Rajoelina sphere, will have to come true anyway. Transitional power sharing will no more be the focus, but rather the elections,still with the HAT and its electoral commission in command. The” dinika santatra” is only one of the first move in one political chess game in which rules of the game can change at any time The national dialog might be preparing the future with serenity, but it cannot settle the crisis without a political agreement. The three mobilities’ boycott is more than predictable, for lack of an agreement.