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Albert Zafy
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==Presidency (1991–1996)== ===Tenure=== In office, Zafy's rivalry with Prime Minister [[Francisque Ravony]] led him to seek increased powers, and in September 1995 a successful referendum was held that substantially increased the powers of the president. This gave him authority over the selection of the prime minister, a decision that was previously in the hands of the National Assembly; following the referendum, the National Assembly was required to send three names of candidates to the president, from which he could choose.<ref name=Elections/> The president also gained the ability to dismiss the prime minister without requiring new elections.<ref name=ISS/><ref name=Elections/> Ravony resigned in October 1995, and Zafy appointed [[Emmanuel Rakotovahiny]], who was the head of the UNDD and had been Minister of State for Rural Development and Land Reform, in his place.<ref>"Oct 1995 – Resignation of Prime Minister", ''Keesing's Record of World Events'', Volume 41, October 1995 Madagascar, Page 40764.</ref><ref>Guy Arnold, [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9112789/MADAGASCAR Madagascar: Year in Review 1995], Britannica.com.</ref> Zafy's time in office was widely seen as being marked by economic decline, which negatively impacted his popularity, and amid accusations of corruption and abuse of power,<ref name=ISS/> he was impeached by the National Assembly on 26 July 1996. The impeachment was backed by more than the necessary two-thirds majority; out of 134 deputies present, 99 voted in favor of the motion, 32 against it, and there were three null votes. On 4 September, the High Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment.<ref>[http://www.hcc.gov.mg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=49 "Empêchement du Président de la République"], Décision n°17-HCC/D3(Empêchement), High Constitutional Court website {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> On 5 September, Zafy announced that he would leave office on 10 October, and he described his impeachment as a "constitutional ''coup d'état''" that occurred as a result of his criticism of the National Assembly. Although he could not delay his departure from office, he was able to stand as a candidate in the [[1996 Malagasy presidential election|late 1996 presidential election]] called as a result of his impeachment.<ref name=Allen>Philip M. Allen, "Madagascar: Impeachment as Parliamentary Coup d'Etat", in ''Checking Executive Power: Presidential Impeachment in Comparative Perspective'' (2003), ed. Jody C. Baumgartner, Naoko Kada, page 90.</ref> ===1996 re-election bid and defeat=== {{main|1996 Malagasy presidential election}} In his 1996 campaign, Zafy blamed the problems faced by Madagascar during his presidency on his opponents and the [[International Monetary Fund]], and he downplayed the charges against him that had led to his impeachment. Although he had lost much of his support,<ref name=Allen/> in the first round of the election, held on 3 November,<ref name=Elections/><ref name=Allen/> he was able to take second place with 23.39% of the vote, behind Ratsiraka's 36.61%.<ref name=Elections/> Zafy received some support in the second round from those who, despite their criticisms of Zafy, felt he was preferable to Ratsiraka, such as Interim President [[Norbert Ratsirahonana]], who had unsuccessfully stood as a candidate in the first round.<ref name=Allen/> In the second round, held on 29 December, Zafy narrowly lost to Ratsiraka, taking 49.29% of the vote<ref name=Elections/> and losing by about 45,000 votes. He later alleged that the High Constitutional Court had switched the numbers for himself and Ratsiraka and said that he had not spoken of that at the time for the sake of peace.<ref name=Allen/>
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