Top Presidential Candidates Barred From Election in Madagascar

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/world/africa/top-presidential-candidates-barred-from-election-in-madagascar.html

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JOHANNESBURG — A court in Madagascar has removed several prominent political leaders from a list of presidential candidates eligible to run in the country’s election, scheduled for Friday, which many in the region hope will settle the island nation’s long-running political crisis.

An electoral court ruled that neither President Andry Rajoelina, who came to power after toppling his predecessor, Marc Ravalomanana, in 2009, nor Mr. Ravalomanana’s wife, Lalao, would be eligible to run, The Associated Press reported. The court said Mr. Rajoelina had not filed his candidacy papers before the deadline, The A.P. said.

Another former president, Didier Ratsiraka, who lives in exile in France, was also struck from the list on Saturday. The court said neither Mr. Ratsiraka nor Mrs. Ravalomanana met the country’s residency requirement because neither had lived in Madagascar for the past six months.

Mr. Ravalomanana was twice elected president of Madagascar but had to flee to South Africa after Mr. Rajoelina, a former disc jockey and mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, pushed him out with the backing of the military in March 2009. Mr. Ravalomanana has tried to return to Madagascar three times since then, but was barred each time, most recently in January 2012, when officials in Antananarivo closed the country’s airport to prevent his plane from landing.

The government had said it planned to arrest Mr. Ravalomanana upon his arrival because he had been convicted in absentia in connection with the killings of antigovernment protesters by the presidential guard.

The Southern African Development Community, a regional trading and economic bloc, has been trying to find a solution to the crisis, and urged Mr. Rajoelina and Mr. Ravalomanana not to run in the coming election. Mr. Ravalomanana agreed to withdraw in December.

The African Union praised the court’s decision in a statement, saying it would help bring about an “election that would mark the conclusion of the crisis exit process and the restoration of constitutional order.”

Madagascar is rich in exotic spices and wildlife, but prone to poverty and political chaos. Mr. Rajoelina pledged to clean up the government when he took power. But the political turmoil has left his government isolated, as other countries have condemned the overthrow of a twice-elected president.