South Africa, as a country and member of SADC, considers elections as a platform with which proper nurturing of governance through the electoral processes enhance democracy. As such, the conduct of democratic elections creates a conducive climate for the populace to have confidence in the institutions of governance.
It is within this context that the 25 October 2013 Presidential Elections in the Republic of Madagascar should be understood, as it marked an important milestone in the political life of the Republic of Madagascar as a country, and to the region as a whole. Holding regular elections remains an indispensable marker of progress and the entrenchment of democracy in any country in the world.
Indeed, South Africa commends the people of Madagascar for the peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves during the elections. This clearly demonstrated their resolve to craft their own destiny in the quest to find a lasting solution to the many challenges the country faced for the past four years. In this regard, South Africa, as part of the SADC collective, but more intensely as the outgoing member of the SADC Organ Troika, participated fully in the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) and deployed a sizable number of observers in line with its obligations to the SADC who ably participated in the SEOM that was deployed to 17 of the 22 regions of the Republic of Madagascar.
The SEOM's report on the Madagascar elections reflects the collective observations made by the region during the electoral process in Madagascar as per the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. Accordingly, South Africa subscribed fully to the Guidelines in defining the successful holding of a free, fair and peaceful election as was the case in the Republic of Madagascar.
As a country, we congratulate the Government of Transition, the CENIT, the stakeholders and all the people of Madagascar for the peaceful elections in line with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections and we reiterate the call made by the SEOM, for political maturity and calm after the results are fully released.
