Madagascar’s government has banned public protests as concerns about the stifling of dissent grow seven months before the presidential election, Radio France International (RFI) reports.
French-owned RFI said on Monday that the minister of interior announced on state TV that no political protests would be allowed in public but they could be held in “an enclosed place” so public order could be maintained. The announcement was made on Friday. A day earlier, the La Gazette de la Grande newspaper said its offices were raided after the arrest of its owner Lola Rasoamaharo, RFI reported.
Critics of the government said the protest ban and Rasoamaharo’s arrest are examples of recent crackdowns on dissent in the island nation of 29 million people ahead of the first round of presidential voting in November. “Today we are moving towards dictatorship,” said Hajo Andrianainarivelo, leader of the opposition Malagasy MMM party and a former cabinet minister. In 2022, Madagascar was ranked 98 out of 180 countries by Reporters Without Borders in its press freedom index.
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