The FFKM has published the national consultation calendar. A summary schedule providing that discussions will begin next August and continue until March 2027. The FFKM plans to formally start the consultation from August onwards.
A provisional framework. Such is the nature of the calendar for the various stages of the national consultation process, published by the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches of Madagascar (FFKM) during the service marking the 66th anniversary of independence, Sunday, at Avaratranjoma.
As the Churches recalled in a statement accompanying the calendar's publication on Sunday, the Head of State has granted them full authority over conducting the national consultation process. Furthermore, during a meeting on June 3 at Ambohitsorohitra, the FFKM was also given a free hand in developing the related calendar. Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, president of the Republic's Refoundation, reiterated his full confidence in them during the Avaratranjoma service.
However, in form, the consultation process calendar established by the Churches leaves much to be desired. It provides only periodic indications across three phases of the various stages to be implemented. The first phase, which began this June and continues through July, includes logistical preparations and training for those who will lead the debates. Debates that should take place "down to community level," including fokontany, according to FFKM objectives.
State Challenge
The Churches note that in the consultation process, the State plays the role of partner in organization and implementation. The latter, through the minister responsible for Refoundation, should have already begun training necessary human resources and logistical preparations since the start of the year. This ministry department has already announced that national consultation will be completed by year's end.
The calendar published by the FFKM simply indicates that substantive debate engagement is planned in the second phase, running from August this year through March 2027, without further detail. According to the schedule, synthesis work on "people's aspirations" and drafting of technical documents are also planned in this second phase. The same applies to developing a draft Constitution and electoral law projects.
The third phase of the Churches' calendar begins in April, without a specific deadline. The FFKM includes establishing an entity responsible for monitoring "Refoundation implementation before elections." Here again, the Ecumenical Council provides only laconic guidance. In this third phase, the FFKM nevertheless mentions commitment to preparing for elections. The Churches thus plan training in electoral observation, citizen electoral education, and monitoring the overhaul of the electoral roll.
Although there is slight variation, the calendar published by the FFKM aligns with the timeline indicated in the roadmap called the Republic's Refoundation Program, submitted to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) at the end of February. This program affirms the state's challenge of holding a referendum or constitutional action as well as presidential elections by the end of 2027.