Madagascar’s transition to democratic rule has been fraught with obstacles and high drama.

After more than four years of political wrangling, the transition process in Madagascar now appears to be back on rails. Election authorities on August 22, 2013 fixed October 25, 2013 and December 20, 2013 for the first and second rounds of the long-awaited presidential poll. Similarly, the list of 33 approved presidential candidates was published – expectedly dropping the controversial candidacies of Transitional President, Andry Rajoelina, ex-First Lady, Lalao Ravalomanana and former Head of State, Didier Ratsiraka.

Destabilising Putsch

The March 2009 forceful takeover of power - with the military’s backing - by the then Mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, set the ball rolling for a crisis that has dragged on for over four years. Rajoelina led popular street protests against democratically-elected President Marc Ravalomanana, eventually edging him out of power. The main reason for the ensuing political stalemate was the failure of Madagascar’s politicians to reach consensus on the way forward. It took four deals for the country to effectively begin the return to normalcy.

Power-sharing Disputes 

The Southern Africa Development Community, SADC mediator for Madagascar, Joachim Chissano, began work in August 2009. Though the Maputo and Addis Ababa agreements were later signed between former leaders, Marc Ravalomanana, Didier Ratsiraka, Albert Zafy and Interim President Andry Rajoelina, nothing came out of them because the signatories failed to agree on sharing key cabinet positions. In a twist of events, Rajoelina in December 2009 unilaterally dismissed the Maputo and Addis Ababa agreements.

Controversial Referendum

On November 17, 2010, a referendum on a new constitution was held. The official results were overwhelmingly in favour of Madagascar’s fourth Constitution. Despite opposition and international community complaints about numerous irregularities in the process, the Constitution was approved. The major innovation was the age eligibility for standing for President that was cut from 40 to 35 years, thereby allowing 38-year-old Rajoelina to run in upcoming elections.

SADC Mediation

Mediation efforts continued until the fourth agreement was signed on September 17, 2011. The SADC Roadmap, unlike the past three deals, took into consideration inputs from Malagasy people, especially the civil society. Though it outlined steps towards peace and the smooth passage of the then transitional period, almost two years after signing, the roadmap had hardly made significant progress in restoring democracy. Among the sticking points were the criteria for standing for President and election timetables.

Failure Of State Institutions

To make matters worse, Madagascar’s electoral and judicial authorities over the past months spent time passing on the buck on who had to take what decision. As a result of this woeful failure to act promptly and firmly, the controversial presidential candidacies of Andry Rajoelina, Lalao Ravalomanana and Didier Ratsiraka, were initially accepted. While Rajoelina submitted his papers late after pledging not to run, Lalao and Ratsiraka did not live long enough in the country prior to the planned poll as required by law. Such wrangling and deadlock caused the presidential vote initially scheduled for July 24, 2013, to be postponed indefinitely.

Withheld Foreign Funding

Seeing the participation of Lalao, Rajoelina and Ratsiraka in any presidential vote as a hindrance to the transition process, the international community withheld its funding until they had pulled out. Similarly, international sanctions that were slammed on Madagascar after the 2009 coup helped in stalling the transition process before the new dates were announced last week.