Madagascar PM: I can leave with my head held high

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Madagascar's prime minister said he resigned on Monday to resolve a political crisis sparked by controversial electoral reforms.

Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana submitted his resignation, saying he "cannot be an obstacle to the life of the nation."

The African island nation has been rocked by violent protests that initially sought to oppose the new laws the opposition said were crafted to bar their candidates from participating in elections planned for later this year.

Opposition MPs and their supporters gather on the May 13 Square on Antananarivo to demand the resignation of Madagascar's President Hery Rajaonarimampianina, May 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

"I resign willingly and with happiness. I have no regrets today and I can leave with my head held high," Solonandrasana told a press briefing.

No successor to Solonandrasana has yet been named.

Since April 21, hundreds of opposition supporters have occupied the capital Antananarivo's May 13 square, initially to protest the president's proposed electoral reform package.

April 13, 2016: Jean Ravelonarivo (C), then Madagascar outgoing Prime Minister, and Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana (L), then newly appointed Prime Minister, answer journalists' questions after the swearing-in ceremony at Mazoharivo Palace in Antananarivo. /VCG Photo

But after the proposals were overturned in court, the protests became a full-blown movement to oust Rajaonarimampianina.

The Constitutional Court ruled that the composition of the new unity government should proportionately reflect the outcome of the last legislative elections in 2013.

However, the ruling triggered fierce debate between the government and the opposition over its interpretation.

The most recent effort, a gathering of the National Reconciliation Council that included government and opposition delegates, finished inconclusively on Friday.

(Cover: In this file photo taken on April 13, 2016, Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana, then newly appointed Madagascar Prime Minister, delivers a speech during the swearing-in ceremony at Mazoharivo Palace in Antananarivo. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP