Madagascar’s Parliament on Monday sacked Speaker Jean Lahiniriko for misconduct after he spoke approvingly of Iran’s controversial nuclear programme during a visit to Tehran, officials said.
Lawmakers voted 119 to six to oust Lahiniriko. The motion was submitted by the Indian Ocean island’s ruling TIM party of which the speaker had been a member until being expelled last week, they said.
A two-thirds vote in the 160-member Assembly was needed to remove Lahiniriko, whose long-standing disagreements with TIM came to a head when he praised Iran’s nuclear energy programme, which some believe is a cover to develop nuclear weapons.
”This means that the party in power is united,” said Solofonantenaina Razoarimihaja, the vice-president of Parliament and president of TIM, which holds 112 seats in the legislature. ”TIM’s solidarity has been reinforced.”
”It’s a victory for the head of state and a positive sign for the future,” he told Agence France-Presse, referring to President Marc Ravalomanana who had grown increasingly frustrated by Lahiniriko’s maverick streak.
The dismissal motion accused Lahiniriko of ”numerous divergences from the policies of the ruling party” and ”his refusal to attend certain official functions at which his presence was mandatory”.
The speaker had long been at odds with TIM’s leadership, but the relationship was irreparably soured in April when Lahiniriko congratulated Iran on its nuclear successes while on a visit to Tehran.
The comments drew concern from some of Madagascar’s donors — particularly Western nations pressing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment — and annoyed the ruling party that argued foreign policy is the authority of the executive.
Some accused Lahiniriko of treason while his supporters argued that he should not be punished for exercising his freedom of speech.
Lahiniriko was expelled from TIM on April 29 and shortly afterward announced his intention to create a new political party to compete in elections that are due by early 2007. — Sapa-AFP