Leaders Urged not to Endorse Rajoelina

(PANA)--The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairman Jean Ping, on Tuesday appealed to all member states of the pan-African organisation and its partners to ‘refrain from any action likely to endorse illegality in Madagascar’.

In an African Union (AU) statement, made available to PANA on Wednesday, Ping called on African states to ‘firmly support the AU stand as expressed by the peace and security council (PSC). The PSC suspended Madagascar from AU following an emergency meeting on 20 March. This decision was taken following the seizure of power in Madagascar by the former Mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, who was named on 18 March as President by the country’s High Constitutional Court (HCC), which is considered by the PSC as ‘unconstitutional’.

The island therefore becomes the third country to be suspended from the 53-membe r pan-African organisation after Mauritania and Guinea. The council also warned that it would impose additional sanctions on the Indian Ocean island if constitutional order was not restored in six months. For this purpose, the statement noted that ‘AUC Chairman initiated consultations to facilitate the quick formation, under the auspices of AU, of an international contact group to better coordinate the action of the international community for the rapid resumption of constitutional order in Madagascar.’

Ping also stressed the need for a rapid resumption of constitutional order ‘through a process involving all Malagasy political stakeholders based on respect of the relevant provisions of the country’s constitution’. The AUC Chairman regretted that the national conference organised by authorities from the ‘unconstitutional’ change failed to take place in conditions likely to build consensus and receive AU support, despite efforts made by AUC which sent a special envoy, Ablassé Ouédraogo, to Madagascar.

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