Marc Ravalomanana

Ravalomanana ran for president in the election to be held on 16 December.[1] His campaign promoted his image as a self-made man who would draw upon his business to develop the country and played upon his youth (aged 52) and his non-alliance with the elderly "political dinosaurs" who had dominated politics over the previous three decades. His origins as a village farmer inspired support among rural voters, who made up over four-fifths of the population.[1] Many voters wished to see established in Madagascar in place of corrupt power networks dominated by nepotism. The Council of Christian Churches of Madagascar (FFKM) rallied behind Ravalomanana.

Ravalomanana's announcement sparked retaliatory actions by the Ratsiraka administration, resulting in frequent defamatory attacks in the press and a court judgment fining him 300 billion Malagasy francs (55.6 million Euros) in relation to his management of Tiko, which were later settled out of court. These attacks were denounced by spokesmen for Ravalomanana's campaign, Tiako iMadagasikara (TIM), and in speeches the candidate delivered in urban and rural areas across the island, by his considerable personal wealth[1] and the airplane and seven helicopters registered to Tiko.[4]

October 2001 polls showed Ravalomanana ahead of Ratsiraka. Following the December election, official results put Ravalomanana in first place, with 46 per cent, against Ratsiraka's 40 per cent; without a majority. Ravalomanana, claiming to have won a majority in the first round, refused to participate in a run-off and after a recount, on 29 April 2002 the High Constitutional Court declared that Ravalomanana had won 51.3 percent of the vote, enough for a narrow first-round victory.

Ravalomanana and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Upon election to the presidency, Ravalomanana sought to mitigate the negative economic impact of the eight-month political standoff with Ratsiraka, which had cost Madagascar millions of dollars[8] He enacted a series of new laws, policies and reforms that sought to efface remaining traces of Ratsiraka's socialist ideology and replace it with a firmly capitalist, market-driven economic environment. The new head of state moved away from reliance on its principal trading partner, France, and cultivated relationships with partners such as Germany, the United States and South Korea as part of his strategy for Madagascar's economic development. In 2004 the World Bank approved his administration's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, entitled Madagascar Naturellement (Madagascar Naturally).[9]

The protected natural areas were tripled on the island from 1.6 million hectares (6,200 sq mi) to 6 million hectares (23,000 sq mi) – ten per cent of the country's land surface – over five years.[9] In 2004 he established aBureau Indépendant Anti-Corruption.[10] That same year, the International Monetary Fund agreed to write off half Madagascar's debt. In 2005 Madagascar became the first country to benefit from the Millennium Challenge Account, a new development fund managed by the United States.[11]

Consequently, the economy grew at an average annual rate of seven per cent throughout his presidency. Under his administration, hundreds of kilometers of roads were paved in formerly isolated rural areas[1] Dramatic improvements in education and health were also achieved under his administration.[12], thousands of new primary schools and additional classrooms were constructed, older buildings were renovated and tens of thousands of new primary teachers were recruited and trained. Primary school fees were eliminated and kits containing basic school supplies were distributed to primary students.[13] Logging in protected areas was outlawed until January 2009.[10]

Also after being elected in 2002, Ravalomanana remained a prominent player in the private sector. The 2003 privatisation of SINPA (Societe d'lnteret National Malgache des Produits Agricoles), the state agricultural corporation, and SOMACODIS (Société Malgache de Collecte et de Distribution), the national trading corporation, provided Ravalomanana the opportunity to purchase both entities, which he incorporated under Tiko.[14] He also created a public roads construction company, Asa Lalana Malagasy.[10]

The benefits of economic growth during the Ravalomanana administration were not evenly distributed, leading to higher costs of living for all Malagasy and a deepening poverty among much of the population with fewer able to increase their wealth. Detractors indicate a decline in purchasing power and dramatic inflation early in Ravalomanana's presidency as evidence of a failure to reduce poverty.[12][15] Ravalomanana's critics remarked that the greatest beneficiary of his reforms and policies was the president himself, giving the example of road construction projects that enabled Tiko to distribute more efficiently as well as the farmers and other small businesspeople targeted by the initiative. Furthermore, his own companies tended to be awarded most of the government contracts for which they bid, although this occurred transparently and legally, due to a weak legal framework around conflict of interest. Critics condemned his tendency to make unilateral decisions and disregard the views of his entourage, a number of whom resigned or were dismissed. Many joined an opposition movement that had gained considerable strength by late 2007.[10]

On 18 November 2006, Ravalomanana's jet was forced to divert from Madagascar's capital during a return trip from Europe following reports of a coup underway in Antananarivo and shooting near the airport. The attempted coup was ultimately unsuccessful.[16]

Ravalomanana ran for a second term in the presidential election held on 3 December 2006.[17] According to official results, he won the election with 54.79 per cent of the vote in the first round. In Antananarivo Province he won 75.39 per cent of voters.[18]

During his second term, Ravalomanana oversaw revisions to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Renamed the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP), this new strategy was intended to build on the successes of his first term to accelerate and expand national development. The plan focused on "the eight commitments": accountable governance, more extensive and interconnected infrastructure, agriculture based rural development, family planning and health (particularly fighting HIV/AIDS), strong economic growth, environmental protection, and the traditional principle of fihavanana (solidarity). The plan's targets were aligned with the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.[19]

As construction of schools and hiring of teachers continued in Ravalomanana's second term, additional measures were adopted to improve education quality, including a shift to Malagasy as the language of instruction in grades one to five, expansion of primary schools to house grades six and seven for greater access to lower secondary schooling[13] In the Constitution of 2007, English was added to Malagasy and French as an official language.[20]

In the later half of his second term, Ravalomanana was criticized by domestic and international observers, who accused him of increasing authoritarianism and corruption.[10]

Political protests in Antananarivo, January 2009

On 13 December 2008, the government closed Viva TV, owned by mayor of Antananarivo Andry Rajoelina, stating that a Viva interview with exiled former head of state Didier Ratsiraka was "likely to disturb peace and security".[10] This move catalyzed the political opposition and a public already dissatisfied with other recent actions undertaken by Ravalomanana, including a July 2008 deal with Daewoo Logistics to lease half the island's arable land for South Korean cultivation of corn and palm oil,[21] and the November 2008 purchase of a second presidential jet at a cost of 60 million U.S. dollars. Within a week, Rajoelina met with twenty of Madagascar's most prominent opposition leaders (referred in the press as the "Club of 20"), to develop a joint statement demanding that the Ravalomanana administration improves its adherence to democratic principles. The demand was broadcast at a press conference, where Rajoelina promised to dedicate a politically open public space in the capital, which he would call Place de la democratie ("Democracy Square").[22]

Beginning in January 2009, Rajoelina led a series of political rallies in downtown Antananarivo where he gave voice to the frustration that Ravalomanana's policies had triggered, particularly among the economically marginalized and members of the political opposition. On 3 February, Ravalomanana dismissed Rajoelina as mayor of Antananarivo and appointed a special delegation. Rajoelina incited demonstrators on 7 February to occupy the president's office. The presidential guard opened fire on the advancing crowd, killing 31 and wounding more than 200.

Popular disapproval of Ravalomanana intensified, conflicts between pro-Rajoelina demonstrators and security forces continued over the following weeks, resulting in several additional deaths.[23] On 11 March, following a declaration of neutrality by army leadership, pro-opposition soldiers from the Army stormed the army headquarters and forced the army chief of staff to resign.[24] Over the next several days the army deployed forces to enable the opposition to occupy key ministries,[25] the chief of military police transferred his loyalty to Rajoelina[26] and the army sent tanks against the presidential Iavoloha Palace.[27] Rajoelina rejected Ravalomanana's offer on 15 March to hold a national referendum. The following day, the army stormed the Ambohitsorohitra Palace and captured the Central Bank.[28] Hours later, Ravalomanana transferred his power to a group of senior army personnel. Ravalomanana later declared he had been forced at gunpoint to relinquish power.[29] A military council would have been charged with organizing elections within 24 months and re-writing the constitution for the "Fourth Republic".[30] However, Vice Admiral Hyppolite Ramaroson announced on 18 March that the council would transfer power directly to Rajoelina, making him president of the opposition-dominated High Transitional Authority (HAT) that he had appointed weeks earlier.

With the military's backing Rajoelina was sworn in as president on 21 March at Mahamasina Municipal Stadium before a crowd of 40,000 supporters,[31] a transfer of power that was considered illegitimate and unconstitutional by the international community and described as a coup d'état.[32][33][34][35]

The former head of state was in exile in Swaziland at the time,[36] having been prevented from returning to Madagascar the previous month.[37] Additionally, on 28 August, Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to hard labour for life for his role in the protests and ensuing deaths.[38] Ravalomanana's Tiko Group faced heavy pressure from the transitional government, which in April 2009 demanded that the company pay 35 million US dollars in back taxes or risk being shut down.[14]

Both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina were requested by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to renounce participation in the 2013 Malagasy presidential elections in order to end the ongoing political crisis. On 10 December 2012, Ravalomanana announced that he would not participate in the elections, and encouraged Rajoelina to follow.[39]

Marc Ravalomanana was candidate at the Malagasy presidential elections 2018. He qualified for the 2nd round, with 35,35 % of the votes.[40] The 2nd round he lost with 44.34% of votes against Andry Rajoelina with 55,66 % of the votes.[41]

Marc Ravalomanana runs as a candidate at the Malagasy presidential elections 2023.[42]

•  Madagascar:
  • Grand Cross, First Class of the National Order of Madagascar

•  Germany:
  • Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2006)[43]
•  Mauritius:
  • Grand Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (2008)[44]

• Honorary Doctorate from University of Antananarivo (2007)[45]
• Honorary Doctorate of Law from Abilene Christian University, Texas (2008)[46]