Security forces in Madagascar fired tear gas on opposition candidates leading a protest in the capital Antananarivo on Monday, amid rising political tensions ahead of presidential elections next month.
Eleven of the 13 presidential candidates in the running had called on supporters to demonstrate against what they have described as an “institutional coup” to favour incumbent Andry Rajoelina.
Some of them, including former president Marc Ravalomanana, locked arms on Monday morning as they headed a march of a few hundred people towards the central May 13 square.
But law enforcement and army officers, who were deployed in the hundreds ahead of the unsanctioned rally, moved to disperse the crowd before it reached the planned destination.
“They are crazy! What the soldiers are doing is dangerous,” Ravalomanana said, after he was led away to safety by his security detail inside the car park of a tennis club in the capital as teargas was fired.
At least two people were arrested and eight wounded, including six police officers and one presidential candidate, according to police spokesman Tojo Raoilijon.
“Things like that happen,” Raoilijon said of the injured candidate, adding some demonstrators pelted security forces with stones.
Voters in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world despite vast natural resources, head to the polls to elect a president on November 9.
Rajoelina, 49, resigned last month in line with the constitution in order to run for re-election.
The president of the Senate was supposed to take over but declined for “personal reasons”, leaving the task to a “collegial government” headed by Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, an ally of Rajoelina.
The move was accepted by the country’s top court, which also dismissed appeals to have Rajoelina’s candidacy declared void over his dual French nationality, sparking the anger of the opposition.
“What happened this morning was scandalous but it will not stop us from trying again and again,” said opposition candidate Jean-Jacques Ratsietison, who was at the protest.
Police said they had to intervene to restore order as the demonstration was not authorised.
“Rajoelina wants to dazzle the opposition with tear gas. It is our democracy that is crying,” added Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, another presidential hopeful.
‘Foment Unrest’
The capital of the Indian Ocean island nation was quiet in the afternoon, as police maintained a strong presence in the centre.
On Sunday, Rajoelina accused his opponents of creating a political crisis “from scratch” because they were “not ready” for the vote.
“There is no crisis in Madagascar,” he said in a televised address.
“There are people who want to foment unrest in the country… who want to burn down infrastructure, including the City Hall. We do not accept that.”
Last month, the European Union, the United States and others including Britain and France, said they were following the run-up to the vote with the “greatest vigilance”.
Confidence in the electoral process is key for the results to be accepted “by all” and to guarantee the “stability” of the country, they said.
The head of the Constitutional Court has previously dismissed accusations of bias, telling AFP that the body could not “force” the head of the Senate to take up the reins.
Rajoelina first took power in 2009 on the back of a coup that ousted Ravalomanana.
After not running in the 2013 election due to international pressure, he was voted back into power in 2018.
AFP
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
