Madagascar

Franchise Age: 18
Compulsory Vote: Not compulsory
Eligibility Exception: persons convicted for crimes or offences; persons deemed insane and committed to a facility
Registration Type: Formal registration in office
Registration Basis: Residence requirement
Registration Flexibility: 15

Nameof EMB: Independent National Electoral Commission
Independent EMB: No
EMBNominations: 9 members slected by various entities. Article 15: La formation permanente de la Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante est un organe collégial constitué de neuf (9) membres dont: - une personnalité désignée par le Président de la République; - une personnalité élue par le Sénat; - une personnalité élue par l’Assemblée nationale; - une personnalité élue par la Haute Cour Constitutionnelle; - une personnalité élue par la Cour Suprême; - une personnalité élue par l’Ordre des Avocats; - une personnalité élue par l’Ordre des journalistes; - deux personnalités élues par les organisations de la société civile légalement constituées œuvrant dans le domaine de l’observation des élections.
EMBTenure: 6 years
Who Runs Election: Election Management Body
Nameof Elect Enforcement Body: Supreme Constitutional Court

Restrictto Candidacy: Only candidates presented by registered political parties are eligible for registration with the High Constitutional Court (HCC, Haute Cour Constitutionnelle), thus excluding the participation of independent candidates in apparent conflict with the Constitution which expressly recognizes the right of citizens to stand for public office regardless of party affiliation or absence of affiliation (Loi no 2009-002, Article 25; Constitution 1992, Article 15). Presidential and National Assembly candidates standing for office must be registered voters (Ordonnance no 2001-002, Article 6.2). To qualify as such they must be Malagasy citizens who are 18 years or older at the date of the poll and in full possession of their civil and political rights are qualified to be registered and vote, providing they are resident in Madagascar, with the exception of the following (Ordonnance no 2010-003, 2, 3): those convicted of a criminal offence; those convicted whose conviction judgement precludes their registration; those under curatorship; those ruled or confined as mentally incompetent; and those deprived by a court order of eligibility to vote.
Debate Average: 1
Debate Format: 2018: first ever. Two candidates. All Africa: The televised discussion on December 10, 2018 for the runoff poll focused on personality rather than issues.
Opinion Polls Embargo: No embargo

Elect System Main Election: Majority
Main Election Type: Presidential
Main Election Cycle: 5
Numb Round Main Election: Two
Referenda_Law: Constitution, art. 5, 55 (5), 137 (5), 162 (3)
Referenda_Binding: Always Binding
Voting Machine: None
Vote IDRequired: ID check compulsory
Polling Card: Polling card compulsory
National Holiday Elect Day: Never
Districting Source: Government
Districting Flexibility: The electoral constituencies are delimited by decree of the Council of Ministers. The law does not provide with any specific criteria for boundary delimitation.

Average Voterby Polling Station: 491
Normal Opening Time Poll Station: 600
Normal Closing Time Poll Station: 1700
Polling Station Numbers: 20072
Listof Polling Station Buildings: schools, public buildings
Accessibility Requirement: Party to UNCRPD BUT, Party to UNCRPD non-systematic application of the Malagasy legal framework, a lack of recognition of the special needs of persons with disabilities and the general lack of knowledge of disability issues and technical resources on behalf of political and administrative authorities.
Ballot Box Transparency: Mixed
Box Feeding System: Voter
Vote Receipt: No receipt
Tellersor Party Employees: CENI-T and local administration bodies recruited 140,007 polling staff in order to conduct the election in 20,001 polling stations across the island. At the local level, representatives of civil administration (Chefs du Fokontany) played a major role in recruiting polling staff. Carter Center long-term observers also reported that due to limited resources, district-level election administration often depended on municipal-level civil administration to conduct the elections. In future elections, CENI-T should re-evaluate its structure and strive to continue to enhance its independence and reduce the need to rely on government elements at the local level.
Count Locallyor Centrally: locally
Manualor Automatic Count: manual

Ballot Type: Paper
Singleor Multi Paper Ballot: Single
Ballot Paper Type Description: Single Ballot Paper with Picture of Candidate. Mark X.
Ballot Paper Type Photo Upload: YES
Ballot Photos: Freely Allowed

Provision Illiterate Voters: Article 91 - After inserting the ballot, the voter shall sign the voter list; if he can not write, he shall affix his fingerprints.In both cases, a member of the polling station shall countersign each signature or fingerprint of the voter on the voter list.
Provision Blind Voters: Electoral Code (2010). Article 98 states: Voting is personal and secret. It cannot be exercised by proxy or by correspondence.
Provision Deaf Voters: Electoral Code (2010). Article 98 states: Voting is personal and secret. It cannot be exercised by proxy or by correspondence.
Provision Motor Handicap Voters: Electoral Code (2010). Article 98 states: Voting is personal and secret. It cannot be exercised by proxy or by correspondence.

Transparency Initiative: Counting takes place at the polling station immediately after polling and is observed by accredited observers, candidates and candidate agents.