The Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches of Madagascar unveiled twelve thematic areas around which the national consultation should be organized. Governance issues dominate, while political subjects appear secondary.

Twelve. That is the number of thematic areas published yesterday by the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches of Madagascar (FFKM). Twelve thematic areas to structure debates during the national consultation.

The first axis focuses on the management of public affairs and governance structures. This is followed by the exercise and access to fundamental rights, economy and sustainable development, as well as justice, peace and the rule of law. Social cohesion and solidarity, culture and Malagasy values are also among the selected subjects. The FFKM also plans to open debates on environment and management of national territory, external relations and sovereignty. The question of decentralization and management of local resources is also among the thematic areas to be addressed.

Space is also given to children, youth and vulnerable persons. The two final axes concern the translation of decisions into laws, and the reform of administration as well as management of public finances. Reading the FFKM publication, the process is oriented mainly toward governance questions, functioning of the State, development and social cohesion, apparently leaving aside political questions, or those relating to elections, which are not mentioned.

The publication of these thematic areas comes at a time when the Churches are preparing the deployment of facilitators in the field for the Consultation. After training sessions, they should begin organizing debates at the Fokontany level starting September 14. Discussions should then progressively move up to communes, regions and, ultimately, to the national level.

Parallel Process

Yesterday also, the FFKM asked stakeholders to "be ready, since the consultation for the Refoundation of Madagascar is near."

According to the schedule established by the FFKM, resolutions from the national consultation should only be known after May 2027. A timeline that already raises concerns, particularly within a segment of Gen Z grouped under the name Gen Z Madagasikara. The latter deplores "the lack of visibility on the methodology, the process and especially the purpose of the process." The gap between the consultation schedule and that of the Refoundation is a source of questioning. The Refoundation chronogram provides that it last twenty-four months starting January 2026, with, as a prospect, a referendum or constitutional election as well as a presidential election before December 2027.

The consultation is nevertheless presented as one of the mechanisms that should lead to the Refoundation of the Republic. In this perspective, resolutions should help define the content of one or more draft Constitutions, which would then be submitted for popular approval by referendum or in the context of a constitutional election. If the consultation resolutions are only made public after May 2027, they could compromise the electoral deadlines of the Refoundation chronogram. The resolutions could even recommend the creation of transitional entities or the modification of the institutional framework for elections and the adoption of new laws or regulatory acts.

The initiation of a parallel process to accelerate the march toward elections and end the Transition makes it all the more difficult to read the current situation. While the national consultation has not yet begun at the community level, consultations for electoral preparations conducted by Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, head of State, which took place from September 1-8, have just ended at the Iavoloha State Palace.

These consultations apparently made it possible to address political questions that do not explicitly appear in the FFKM's twelve thematic areas. The various participating entities formulated their recommendations on the conditions necessary for the credibility of elections and on the means to sustainably exit political crises. It remains to be seen what will come of it. Will they lead to a new legal and institutional framework for elections? And how will this articulate with the conclusions of the national consultation if the latter also formulates proposals on elections and institutions?

Several scenarios remain possible. A reform of the framework...