Parliament dissolved ahead of new elections

Madagascar dissolved its parliament on Wednesday ahead of parliamentary elections set for 15 December, almost exactly a year after a disputed presidential election which plunged the country into a violent power struggle. One candidate - an independent - has already registered and campaigning begins officially on 14 November in the race for 160 seats in the national assembly. The election is in line with demands by the international community and the African Union (AU) that fresh polls be held before the end of the year. This was part of a set of resolutions to defuse the stand-off between former president Didier Ratsiraka, who refused to accept his election defeat by Marc Ravalomanana who eventually declared himself president - a move endorsed by the country's highest court. Although many countries have recognised Ravalomanana, the AU is yet to do so until he holds fresh polls. An added incentive to keep to the election timetable was the promise of donor funding for the impoverished island. "If the election goes ahead as planned and people turn up to vote then it is an indication that the current government is legitimised," Siphamandla Zondi, a researcher at the Pretoria-based Africa Institute told IRIN. However, Zondi observed that it also needed the participation of Ratsiraka's AREMA party, which held the majority in the previous parliament, to legitimise the result. Ratsiraka is currently residing in France. Ravalomanana's claim to popularity would also be put to the test. He did not have a political party last year but transformed his presidential election campaign into a party called Tiako Madagasikra - I love Madagascar. Meanwhile, a UN mission from New York is currently in Madagascar gathering information on the country's election readiness. "They arrived a week ago and the purpose is to make an assessment of the political situation here and the state of preparedness to run an election correctly," UN Development Programme acting Resident Representative Chitou Mansourou told IRIN. "They must advise the government and the UN on the possible support the UN may provide to these elections. The date of election has already been published and the team will have to move quickly and hopefully have a report ready by the end of this month," he said.