Yearbook 2007
Madagascar. According to
CountryAAH, President Marc Ravalomanana, who took up his
second term in December 2006, reformed the government in
January. As new prime minister, he appointed his campaign
manager Charles Rabemananjara, a former interior minister
with a past in the army.
In a referendum in April, just over 75 percent of voters
said yes to a series of constitutional changes. They mean
that the President is given the right to govern via decree
in "emergency situations", the self-government of the six
provinces is revoked, that English becomes official language
alongside Malagasy and French and that the number of seats
in Parliament is reduced.
Ahead of this autumn's parliamentary elections, 25
opposition parties formed an alliance against the
government. Nevertheless, the ruling party Tiakoi
Madagasikara (I love Madagascar, TIM) won big and got 105 of
the 127 seats. As in the referendum, participation was low -
below 50 percent.
Madagascar - Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo, formerly Tananarive, capital of Madagascar; 1. 3
million residents (2015). Antananarivo, located approximately in the middle of
the island, is the country's cultural center, with, among other things, a
university (founded in 1961), and its most important commercial city and
transport hub. The city has an international airport as well as rail and road
connections with the other parts of the island, for example with Toamasina, the
country's most important port city on the island's east coast. In Antananarivo
there are food, textile and tobacco industries.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Antananarivo became the capital of the
marina and at the end of the 18th century the residence of the royal family who
then ruled the country during the 19th century. The remarkable palace on
Antananarivo's castle mountain consists of a huge hut in traditional design,
surrounded by a "shell" in European style.
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