The independent deputy Marie Jeanne d’Arc Masy Goulamaly was placed under house arrest, a decision which created controversy in and out of Madagascar in the week that followed. The candidate was vying for re-election in the Tsihombe constituency of the Grand Sud when she was arrested.
On Saturday, June 1st, 2024, around fifty police officers detained her after she complained of irregularities and ballot stuffing in her constituency on polling day.
Goulamaly reported several irregularities, such as barricaded entrances to polling stations, missing ballot boxes, a ballot box already filled before voting started, and the coercion of minors’ votes. These findings, in the company of another candidate, were reported in an official letter to the authorities on May 31, 2024. The sub-prefect and the gendarmerie commander confirmed these findings, which were officially recorded in a report signed by local representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Céni), a copy of which RFI reviewed.
Later that day, it fueled protests and led to the burning of two administrative buildings. The arson occurred on June 1st, and the following day, Goulamaly was arrested in Tsihombe. She was detained by approximately fifty soldiers, all armed and with their faces covered, and was taken to Ambovombe.
Since then, Goulamaly has been under house arrest. Her detention was subsequently condemned as “arbitrary” by Amnesty International in a statement released last night. Nciko wa Nciko said, “We demand her immediate release. The proper procedure was not followed at all. There was no search warrant or arrest warrant when the police officers and gendarmes arrived to detain her. It is evident to us that there is a connection between this arbitrary detention and the recent election. The irregularities highlighted by the deputy appear to benefit candidate Bernard Tolia, whom President Andry Rajoelina’s party supports. The arrest seems to be politically motivated.”
The NGO also pointed out a violation of the Malagasy Constitution. Goulamaly was never stripped of her parliamentary immunity as an active deputy. “She should not have been arrested,” the NGO stated. The unconstitutional arrest and breach of the National Assembly’s internal regulations were denounced on Wednesday by the acting president of the lower house in a letter to the prime minister.
Several attempts to get comments from the gendarmes were unsuccessful. The prosecutor of Ambovombe has declared that investigations are still being carried out within the gendarmerie and that he has not yet received the case file.
Goulamaly, in her response, has no information concerning why she was arrested and when she will be released. She indicates that she is preparing a complaint to be filed on Monday before Céni and the High Constitutional Court. She claims to have photographic and video evidence of all the irregularities she has reported.