Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar
Encyclopedia
The Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar (AREMA) or Pillar and Structure for the Salvation of Madagascar (Andry sy Rihana Enti-Manavotra an'i Madagasikara) is a political party
in Madagascar
.
. It held the majority of seats in the parliament until the fall of the Ratsiraka regime in 1991.
In the elections to the Senate held on 18 March 2001, AREMA won 49 of the 60 elected seats.
In the parliamentary election
held on 15 December 2002, the party won 4.9 % of the popular vote and 3 out of 160 seats in the National Assembly
, all three in Toamasina Province
.
The current national secretary, Pierrot Rajaonarivelo, was elected at a party congress on November 29, 1997. He has been exiled in France since 2002 and has been convicted and sentenced in absentia. Ramaholimasy holds the position while Rajaonarivelo is out of the country.
Currently, the party is divided into two antagonistic factions: those behind Rajaonarivelo and those who claim to be supported by the party founder, Ratsiraka.
Rajaonarivelo sought to run in the December 2006 presidential election
, but was not allowed to enter the country.
The Ratsiraka faction of the party chose not to participate in the September 2007 parliamentary election
, while the Rajaonarivelo faction chose to participate. The Ratsiraka faction sought to prevent the Rajaonarivelo faction's participation, but on August 23 the High Constitutional Court ruled that the Rajaonarivelo faction could participate. The party did not win any seats in the election.
Other explanations of the name exist, the ones above are used by the daily newspaper L'Express de Madagascar.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
- National secretary: Pierrot RajaonariveloPierrot RajaonariveloPierrot Jocelyn Rajaonarivelo is a Malagasy politician and National Secretary of the AREMA party. He served in the government of Madagascar as Deputy Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002, under President Didier Ratsiraka. He went into exile when Ratsiraka was ousted in 2002, and he was subsequently...
- Interim national secretary: Pierre Houlder Ramaholimasy
History
The party was founded on 19 March 1976, as the political party of president Didier RatsirakaDidier Ratsiraka
Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka is a Malagasy politician who was President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.-Second Republic:...
. It held the majority of seats in the parliament until the fall of the Ratsiraka regime in 1991.
In the elections to the Senate held on 18 March 2001, AREMA won 49 of the 60 elected seats.
In the parliamentary election
Malagasy parliamentary election, 2002
Parliamentary elections were held in Madagascar on 15 December 2002. They were won by the Tiako I Madagasikara party of President Marc Ravalomanana, which took 103 of the 160 seats. Voter turnout was 67.86% of the 5,844,564 registered voters.-Results:...
held on 15 December 2002, the party won 4.9 % of the popular vote and 3 out of 160 seats in the National Assembly
National Assembly of Madagascar
The Parliament has two chambers. The lower house is the National Assembly .The Assembly has 160 members, elected for a four year term in single-member and two-member constituencies...
, all three in Toamasina Province
Toamasina Province
Toamasina is a former province of Madagascar with an area of 71,911 km². It had a population of 2,855,600 . Its capital was Toamasina, the most important seaport of the country....
.
The current national secretary, Pierrot Rajaonarivelo, was elected at a party congress on November 29, 1997. He has been exiled in France since 2002 and has been convicted and sentenced in absentia. Ramaholimasy holds the position while Rajaonarivelo is out of the country.
Currently, the party is divided into two antagonistic factions: those behind Rajaonarivelo and those who claim to be supported by the party founder, Ratsiraka.
Rajaonarivelo sought to run in the December 2006 presidential election
Malagasy presidential election, 2006
Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 3 December 2006. President Marc Ravalomanana, in office since he prevailed in a dispute over election results in 2002, ran for re-election...
, but was not allowed to enter the country.
The Ratsiraka faction of the party chose not to participate in the September 2007 parliamentary election
Malagasy parliamentary election, 2007
A parliamentary election was held in Madagascar on 23 September 2007, with the vote to be repeated in two constituencies on 14 November 2007. 637 candidates contested the election, in which the 127 seats in the National Assembly were at stake....
, while the Rajaonarivelo faction chose to participate. The Ratsiraka faction sought to prevent the Rajaonarivelo faction's participation, but on August 23 the High Constitutional Court ruled that the Rajaonarivelo faction could participate. The party did not win any seats in the election.
Name
The name originally meant Antokin'ny Revolisiona Malagasy (Responsible for the Malagasy revolution) in Malagasy and Avant-garde de la Révolution Malgache (Vanguard of the Malagasy revolution) in French. Sometime around 2001, the name was changed to Andry sy rihana enti-manavotra an'i Madagasikara (Malagasy) or Avant-garde pour la rénovation de Madagascar (French). The wish to have the same acronym in Malagasy and French means that the meanings of the name are somewhat different in the two languages.Other explanations of the name exist, the ones above are used by the daily newspaper L'Express de Madagascar.