The Southern African Development Community condemned on Tuesday the formation of a new government in Madagascar and maintained the island nation’s suspension from the regional grouping.
The SADC said in a summit declaration that it ”firmly rejects and condemns the unilateral decision” of transitional president Andry Rajoelina, who formed his government and kept his prime minister despite protests by other political parties.
Madagascar was suspended from the SADC after Rajoelina ousted president Marc Ravalomanana in March with the army’s blessing.
The grouping’s executive secretary Thomaz Augusto Salomao, who read the statement, said: ”The summit upholds its decision to suspend Madagascar from the (SADC) until constitutional normality has returned to the country.”
The 29th SADC summit also expressed ”support for the current political dialogue in Madagascar and called on all political actors to fully implement the Maputo agreements”.
The internationally-brokered talks in the capital of Mozambique last month yielded a deal stipulating that the president and prime minister of a transition administration were to be decided by consensus.
But Rajoelina earlier on Tuesday unveiled a 31-minister ”unity government” line-up which has been rejected by the opposition and international mediators.
Ministries such as defence, foreign affairs, justice and security are unchanged but the line-up includes stalwarts from Ravalomanana’s administration.
In addition to the 31 ministers, Rajemison Rakotomaharo and Jacques Sylla were appointed respectively vice-president and Parliament speaker of the Indian Ocean island’s transitional authority.
Their appointment still needs approval from the Council of Ministers.
Rakotomaharo is a former senate president. Jacques Sylla, a prime minister under Ravalomanana from 2002 to 2007, was speaker of the national assembly from 2007 and head of Ravalomanana’s party until February.
However both men started to distance themselves from Ravalomanana as Rajoelina’s popular opposition movement gathered steam.
The new government counts only one opposition figure: Alain Andrianiseza, a leading figure in the pro-Ravalomanana movement, who was appointed fisheries minister.
Cecile Manorohanta, a former defence minister under Ravalomanana who resigned in February after 28 demonstrators were killed by the presidential guard, was named deputy prime minister in charge of the interior.
On Friday, Rajoelina said he was keeping Monja Roindefo on as prime minister and tasked him with putting in place ”a government of national unity open to all movements” within 72 hours.
Three main opposition movements, each led by former heads of state, said they could not accept any unilateral move by Rajoelina, arguing it would violate the power-sharing deal reached last month.
The mediation team, made up of representatives of the African Union, the United Nations, the international organisation of francophone countries and the SADC, on Monday rejected ”any unilateral solution” and called on the parties to hold new talks.
Madagascar’s opposition argues that Rajoelina, who at 35 is constitutionally too young to run for president, has not accepted the principle of power-sharing. – AFP
