allesennogwat
09-23-2007, 08:29 AM
ANTANANARIVO - - Madagascans are voting Sunday for the Indian Ocean island's parliament, with President Marc Ravalomanana's party tipped to continue its domination of the assembly.
In the capital Antananarivo, voters started trickling to some of the vast Indian Ocean island's 17,586 polling stations shortly after 7:00 am (0400 GMT).
"The election is very calm, something rare in Africa," Ravalomanana said after casting his ballot in the city centre.
"This matter concerns everybody and I am very proud of the Madagascans... We have to help people understand politics," he added.
Ravalomanana dissolved parliament in July, saying it no longer reflected national representation after a new constitution passed in April ended the autonomy of Madagascar's provinces.
The new charter also enhanced Ravalomanana's powers after he won presidential elections in December that were billed by observers as fair despite opposition protests.
The Constitutional Court, charged with overseeing elections in the world's fourth-largest island, has cleared 637 candidates to vie for the 127 parliamentary seats, reduced from a previous 160.
Ravalomanana's TIM (I love Madagascar) party is favoured to win a majority in the single-round election.
However, a group of legislators disgruntled with the ruling party's leadership will be running as independents, although they still support Ravalomanana as president.
"They are not serious challengers," Razoarimihaja Solofonantenaina, the TIM party leader, told AFP, adding that there are only 20 of them.
"Our visits to the ground show that the people are with us," said Solofonantenaina, who is also vying for a seat in the capital Antananarivo.
Opposition parties will run under a joint platform in some constituencies, but have complained of government schemes to hamper them.
"We have difficulties defending our seats because the administration has been ordered to block the opposition," said Pierre Houlder, secretary of the AREMA party, which is fielding candidates without the approval of party founder Didier Ratsiraka, Madagascar's former president now exiled in France.
Houlder, who did not detail the anti-opposition schemes, is touting a plan to free Madagascar's economy similar to one backed by Ravalomanana.
The president's "Madagascar Action Plan" seeks to slash poverty levels by 50 percent and boost growth by between eight and 10 percent annually by 2012.
"In less-developed countries there can be no big differences between plans. It is the execution and methods that make the difference," Houlder said.
Nearly 70 percent of Madagascar's more than 17 million inhabitants live in abject poverty, with the country ranked among the world's 30 most-impoverished nations in terms of human development.
Sunday's elections will be the third time Madagascar's 7.5 million registered voters have gone to the polls in less than a year since they gave Ravalomanana a second five-year term in December. A referendum was held on the constitution in April.
Voting is due to close at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).
In the capital Antananarivo, voters started trickling to some of the vast Indian Ocean island's 17,586 polling stations shortly after 7:00 am (0400 GMT).
"The election is very calm, something rare in Africa," Ravalomanana said after casting his ballot in the city centre.
"This matter concerns everybody and I am very proud of the Madagascans... We have to help people understand politics," he added.
Ravalomanana dissolved parliament in July, saying it no longer reflected national representation after a new constitution passed in April ended the autonomy of Madagascar's provinces.
The new charter also enhanced Ravalomanana's powers after he won presidential elections in December that were billed by observers as fair despite opposition protests.
The Constitutional Court, charged with overseeing elections in the world's fourth-largest island, has cleared 637 candidates to vie for the 127 parliamentary seats, reduced from a previous 160.
Ravalomanana's TIM (I love Madagascar) party is favoured to win a majority in the single-round election.
However, a group of legislators disgruntled with the ruling party's leadership will be running as independents, although they still support Ravalomanana as president.
"They are not serious challengers," Razoarimihaja Solofonantenaina, the TIM party leader, told AFP, adding that there are only 20 of them.
"Our visits to the ground show that the people are with us," said Solofonantenaina, who is also vying for a seat in the capital Antananarivo.
Opposition parties will run under a joint platform in some constituencies, but have complained of government schemes to hamper them.
"We have difficulties defending our seats because the administration has been ordered to block the opposition," said Pierre Houlder, secretary of the AREMA party, which is fielding candidates without the approval of party founder Didier Ratsiraka, Madagascar's former president now exiled in France.
Houlder, who did not detail the anti-opposition schemes, is touting a plan to free Madagascar's economy similar to one backed by Ravalomanana.
The president's "Madagascar Action Plan" seeks to slash poverty levels by 50 percent and boost growth by between eight and 10 percent annually by 2012.
"In less-developed countries there can be no big differences between plans. It is the execution and methods that make the difference," Houlder said.
Nearly 70 percent of Madagascar's more than 17 million inhabitants live in abject poverty, with the country ranked among the world's 30 most-impoverished nations in terms of human development.
Sunday's elections will be the third time Madagascar's 7.5 million registered voters have gone to the polls in less than a year since they gave Ravalomanana a second five-year term in December. A referendum was held on the constitution in April.
Voting is due to close at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).