Albert Zafy

Albert Zafy (1 May 1927 – 13 October 2017) was a Malagasy politician and educator who served as President of Madagascar from 27 March 1993 to 5 September 1996. In 1988, he founded the National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD).

In 1992, Zafy stood as a presidential candidate against President Didier Ratsiraka. The election soon became a run-off between the two candidates. In 1993, Zafy won the run-off election in a landslide, receiving 67% of the vote.Richard R. Marcus
"Political change in Madagascar: populist democracy or neopatrimonialism by another name?"
, Institute for Security Studies, Occasional Paper 89, August 2004. During his presidency, Zafy received poor polling numbers due to an economic decline with accusations of corruption in his office. He was impeached in 1996 and then defeated by Ratsiraka in the 1996 presidential election. After leaving office, Zafy remained active in politics as an opposition leader under successive administrations.

Early life and early career

Zafy was born in Ambilobe, Diana Region on 1 May 1927. He studied at the University of Montpellier in France. After his return to Madagascar he became Minister of Public Health and Social Affairs under Gabriel Ramanantsoa. After Didier Ratsiraka took power in 1975, Zafy resigned from the government and joined the University of Madagascar.''Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience'' (1999), ed. Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., page 2039.

Early political career

Opposition leader in the early 1990s

In 1988 he founded the National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD). At a national conference of the opposition in 1990, Zafy was elected as President of the Committee of Active Forces (CFV), a cooperation group of several opposition parties, including Zafy's UNDD. On 16 July 1991, the CFV declared the creation of an alternative government, with Zafy as its Prime Minister. Zafy was detained for a week in late July 1991 and was met with a crowd of about 100,000 supporters upon his release."Madagascar Offers Coalition"
''The New York Times'', 31 July 1991, section A, page 3. He was subsequently wounded during a protest. The opposition was ultimately successful in forcing Ratsiraka to agree to the Panorama Convention, which established a transitional government and stripped Ratsiraka of most of his powers, on 31 October 1991. Zafy oversaw the transition as head of the High State Authority, which, along with the Social and Economic Recovery Council, replaced the Supreme Revolutionary Council and the National Assembly during the 1991–1993 transitional period.

First Presidential run

In the multiparty presidential election held in November 1992, Zafy came first in the first round with about 45% of the vote; Ratsiraka placed second with about 29%.Elections in Madagascar
African Elections Database. In the second round, held on 10 February 1993, Zafy won the presidency with 66.74% of the vote. He took office in late March–the first time since Madagascar's independence in 1960 that an incumbent president peacefully transferred power to an elected member of the opposition. In June 1993, Zafy's supporters won a majority in parliamentary elections.

Presidency (1991–1996)

Tenure

In office, Zafy's rivalry with Prime Minister Francisque Ravony led him to seek increased powers, and in September 1995 a successful referendum was held that substantially increased the powers of the president. This gave him authority over the selection of the prime minister, a decision that was previously in the hands of the National Assembly; following the referendum, the National Assembly was required to send three names of candidates to the president, from which he could choose.

The president also gained the ability to dismiss the prime minister without requiring new elections. Ravony resigned in October 1995, and Zafy appointed Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, who was the head of the UNDD and had been Minister of State for Rural Development and Land Reform, in his place.

Zafy's time in office was widely seen as being marked by economic decline, which negatively impacted his popularity, and amid accusations of corruption and abuse of power, he was impeached by the National Assembly on 26 July 1996. The impeachment was backed by more than the necessary two-thirds majority; out of 134 deputies present, 99 voted in favor of the motion, 32 against it, and there were three null votes. On 4 September, the High Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment. On 5 September, Zafy announced that he would leave office on 10 October, and he described his impeachment as a "constitutional ''coup d'état''" that occurred as a result of his criticism of the National Assembly. Although he could not delay his departure from office, he was able to stand as a candidate in the late 1996 presidential election called as a result of his impeachment.Philip M. Allen, "Madagascar: Impeachment as Parliamentary Coup d'Etat", in ''Checking Executive Power: Presidential Impeachment in Comparative Perspective'' (2003), ed. Jody C. Baumgartner, Naoko Kada, page 90.

1996 re-election bid and defeat

In his 1996 campaign, Zafy blamed the problems faced by Madagascar during his presidency on his opponents and the International Monetary Fund, and he downplayed the charges against him that had led to his impeachment. Although he had lost much of his support, in the first round of the election, held on 3 November, he was able to take second place with 23.39% of the vote, behind Ratsiraka's 36.61%. Zafy received some support in the second round from those who, despite their criticisms of Zafy, felt he was preferable to Ratsiraka, such as Interim President Norbert Ratsirahonana, who had unsuccessfully stood as a candidate in the first round. In the second round, held on 29 December, Zafy narrowly lost to Ratsiraka, taking 49.29% of the vote and losing by about 45,000 votes. He later alleged that the High Constitutional Court had switched the numbers for himself and Ratsiraka and said that he had not spoken of that at the time for the sake of peace.

Post-presidency (1997–2017)

Opposition leader under Ratsiraka

Zafy led an attempt to impeach Ratsiraka in early 1998, accusing him of various charges, including perjury and nepotism; he also accused Ratsiraka of violating the constitution in his moves toward decentralization and the strengthening of the presidency at the expense of the National Assembly's power. The impeachment motion failed in the National Assembly on 4 February 1998 when only 60 deputies voted in favor of it, well short of the necessary 92. Zafy subsequently won a seat in the May 1998 parliamentary election, becoming the oldest deputy in the National Assembly. He also unsuccessfully sought the secession of Antsiranana Province from Madagascar at around the same time.

On 31 August 2001, Zafy announced that he would again run in the December 2001 presidential election. On that occasion, he placed a distant third with about 5% of the vote. Opposition candidate Marc Ravalomanana prevailed in an extended dispute with Ratsiraka over the election results, and Ratsiraka fled into exile.

Opposition leader under Ravalomanana

Zafy became the leader of the National Reconciliation Committee (CRN), which was founded in June 2002 to promote national reconciliation among the leading participants in the political crisis that followed the 2001 election. During Ravalomanana's presidency, Zafy and the CRN were viewed as part of the radical opposition in Madagascar. Zafy strongly criticized Ravalomanana and called for a new constitution. A grenade exploded outside Zafy's home early on 8 July 2004, causing some damage but no injuries."MADAGASCAR: Grenade explodes outside ex-president's home"
IRIN, 9 July 2004. This occurred in the midst of a series of grenade attacks across the country.

On 8 December 2006, Zafy's property was raided by police as part of the government's investigation regarding General Fidy, who allegedly attempted a coup in November, and presidential candidate Pety Rakotoniaina