Madagascar: authorities must immediately release a deputy arbitrarily arrested after denouncing voting irregularities

Malagasy authorities must immediately and unconditionally release MP Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly, who was arbitrarily arrested and accused of orchestrating protests following an official complaint she filed regarding the credibility of the elections legislative elections last month, Amnesty International said today.

Goulamaly remains in arbitrary detention since his arrest on May 31. Her arrest comes after she denounced voting irregularities in her constituency of Tsihombe, in southern Madagascar, during the May 29 elections.

“It is a travesty that the Malagasy authorities arrested MP Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly for complaining about the fairness of the legislative elections in her constituency,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's regional director for the East and the South. Africa.

It is a travesty that the Malagasy authorities arrested MP Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly, for having filed a complaint concerning the fairness of the legislative elections in her constituency.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa

“His continued arbitrary detention violates his rights to freedom of expression and association. The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly, as she is detained solely for peacefully exercising her human rights.

On May 31, without a search or arrest warrant, around fifty Malagasy police officers and gendarmes forcibly expelled Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly from her home in the Tsihombe district. They took her to Ambovombe, about two hours away, where she was arbitrarily placed under house arrest.

“The Malagasy authorities are openly keeping Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly in prison for political reasons. These repressive tactics go against Madagascar's regional and international human rights obligations, particularly with regard to the right to move freely and choose one's residence within a State, as provided for by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights,” said Tigere Chagutah.

The Malagasy authorities openly keep Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly in prison for political reasons

Chagutah Tiger

Background

Madagascar held its legislative elections on May 29, 2024. The process was reportedly marred by electoral irregularities that were captured and filmed by voters in the Tsihombe constituency. These measures consisted in particular of refusing the delegates of three of the four legislative candidates access to the polling stations, of authorizing part of the vote in their absence, of registering minors on the electoral lists and of resorting to threats and intimidation.

Protests broke out two days later, on May 31, shortly after Marie Jeanne d'Arc Masy Goulamaly, together with another candidate, Vontsoa Christian, filed an official complaint with the relevant authorities, calling for action regarding these irregularities . These demonstrations resulted in the burning of two administrative buildings of the electoral commission.