Legislative elections on March 12th 2011 : The electoral commission is appearing topfit, the political class, concerned

The CENI´s next mission is from now on the HAT´s legislative elections. The Commission theorically can cope in staff terns. Its president Hery Rakotomanana presented the number of 60,000 members countrywide deployed. Electoral agents are going to renew censuses. The Central Computing Center will be computing the collected data. The printing of electoral papers are still to be remaining the regional centers´duty. Financial supplies are insured by the state. Everything seems perfect.

The Commission´s general secretary conceded several weaknesses, despite Hery Rakotomanana´s satisfaction. It is naturally the others´ fault, isn´t it? Regional Computins Centers served as scapegoats this time around, the official guilt for electoral registers´ errors. In order to remedy the issue, the commission is intending to install computing centers in every district, expected to ease the datacomputing process.

Is it enough to ease the political classe´s concerns related to the next elections´ democratic standards? The opposition is displaying its scepticism, with a measured tone though, from fear or repression: “this governmental decision was a surprise to us” stated the Ravalomanana sphere´s Mamy Rakotoarivelo. He emphasized that not a word about this election was uttered by the authorities during the SADC emissaries´ stay in the country: “this decision was unilaterally taken, we do not pledge it” stated the president of a stillborn transititonal Congress.

Mamy Rakotoarivelo does not need to focus on the lack of political deal to turn this HAT led decision down. He simply recalled the series of technical failures related to the unrecognized referendum: “no less than 6 months are required to prepare an election a little better than that”. The HAT´s umpteenth unilateral intention is not yet proving convincing. Candidacy for the fake TIM party leader might just be as pointless as the referendum´s  artificial 52% high participation rate

Even the HAT´s own allies are now being embarassed by the state led violation of its own electoral law. Jean Claude Rakotonirina, from the LEADER FANILO party is calling upon respect for the electoral code´s article 36, namely the impossibility to organize polling processes during the rainy season, between November and March. He wondered about what kind of emergency situation would be justifying such an infringement. Pierrot Rajaonarivelo ´s MDM pary is equally calling upon respect for the code, without challenging the authorities´calculated date for so much though. Alain Andriamiseza´s MCDM party is appearing pragmatic, as expecting potential new political factors to alter the situation