SUMMARY
The conflict between the Supporters of Didier Ratsiraka and Supporters of Marc Ravalomanana steamed from the contested national election in December 2001. President Ratsiraka had ruled the country for over 20 years when his post was contested by the mayor of the capital, Ravalomanana. Following the elections, both candidates announced themselves as winners. In January 2002, Ravalomanana called for a national strike and a large number of supporters closed their shops and businesses for mass demonstrations against Ratsiraka. Ratsiraka, on the other hand, claimed that the election was rigged and weeks of political deadlock followed. When Ravalomanana subsequently declared himself president, violence broke out between supporters of the two candidates.
The violence continued throughout the spring and early summer, as the country’s High Constitutional Court declared Ravalomanana as winner, and Ratsiraka initially responded by ignoring the verdict. The violence finally came to an end when Ratsiraka sought exile in France, the former colonial ruler of Madagascar. Ravalomanana and his supporters gained full control of the country a few days later after peacefully taking over Ratsiraka’s home province.
The political deadlock that followed the election largely divided the country as both candidates declared themselves as presidents and set up two separate governments. While Ravalomanana’s main support base came from the urban population, Ratsiraka drew most of his support from the less developed rural and coastal areas. These factors taken together led to a further polarization of the two groups and also contributed to exacerbate communal and ethnic tensions, which had rarely been spoken of before.
The violence was characterized by clashes in connection to demonstrations held by the opposing groups, as well as clashes involving just a few supporters of each side. In some instances there were reports of supporters of one side clashing with ethnic groups seen as being loyal to the opposing side. Several civilians were also killed in the crossfire.
One important part of the conflict between the two groups was the tactics of roadblocks used by the Supporters of Didier Ratsiraka. By blocking the roads to the capital, several factories had to close down, with increasing unemployment a consequence. The malnutrition also increased due to the lack of food supplies in the capital. The blockade was eventually ended as Supporters of Marc Ravalomanana gained more strength towards the end of the conflict.
The violence in this conflict was largely confined to the capital of Antananarivo and a few larger towns, mainly in the central and northern parts of the country.
The non-state conflict between Supporters of Didier Ratsiraka and Supporters of Marc Ravalomanana is first included in UCDP data in year 2002. During the spring of that year, violent clashes flared up following the contested election in December 2001, and by April clashes between the two supporter groups had resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.
