State in Madagascar

The State in Madagascar, also called the Etat malagasy or Fanjakana Malagasy, is the public constitutional system that exercises authority over the country, provides administration, collects public revenue, manages public services and protects public order. Its main national institutions include the President or current head-of-state authority, the Government led by the Prime Minister, the Assemblée Nationale, the Sénat, the Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (HCC), the courts and the Haute Cour de Justice. The HCC reviews constitutional questions, settles certain institutional conflicts, decides electoral and referendum disputes and officially proclaims results within its jurisdiction. The judicial system includes the Cour Suprême, Cours d’Appel, subordinate courts and the Haute Cour de Justice. The constitutional and institutional situation is transitional. In Decision 10-HCC/D3 of 14 October 2025, the HCC found a presidential vacancy and invited Colonel Michaël RANDRIANIRINA to exercise the functions of Chef d’Etat. Official portals in 2026 use the designation Président de la Refondation. Mamitiana Jeannot Ruffin RAJAONARISON has served as Prime Minister since 15 March 2026, and the Government has 31 members. The refoundation programme and PGE-R provide for national consultation, possible constitutional adaptation, a constitutional referendum and a presidential election. These planned steps do not by themselves establish a new constitutional republic. The Constitution de la 4e République remains the evidenced reference text, while the Senate mandate expired on 18 January 2026 and its legislative and institutional functions ceased; the Assemblée Nationale therefore functions provisionally as the sole legislative chamber until a new Senate is established. Madagascar has national administration and territorial organisation at the same time. The administrative chain runs through Régions, Districts, Communes and fokontany. The Collectivités Territoriales Décentralisées, known as CTD, are the decentralised territorial authorities: Communes, Régions and Provinces. The reviewed official baseline counts 23 Régions, 119 Districts, 1,695 Communes and approximately 18,000 fokontany. A fokontany is a local proximity structure rather than a separate level of decentralised government. Governors, prefects, district chiefs, mayors and local councils have different responsibilities, and administrative units must be distinguished from CTD. A refoundation roadmap refers to 24 regions, but the reviewed primary sources do not settle that discrepancy. People and organisations usually contact the State through the responsible ministry, prefecture, district, commune or fokontany. The exact authority, documents, fee and deadline depend on the service and sector law. Communes and other CTD have administrative and financial autonomy, regulatory powers and local resources from taxes, fees, statutory State shares, grants, donations, patrimony and regulated borrowing. Local budgets and decisions remain subject to legal procedures and State supervision. The Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances manages the national budget, taxation, customs, Treasury and public accounting. State revenue comes from taxes, customs, non-tax income, borrowing and external aid. The annual Loi de Finances and execution documents set the budget framework. The Direction Générale du Contrôle Financier, or DGCF, provides prior financial control and advice, while public procurement follows regulatory procedures. The Cour des Comptes audits the execution of finance laws and evaluates public policies. BIANCO handles corruption prevention, complaints, investigations and declarations of assets or economic interests for covered officials. SAMIFIN analyses financial information connected with money laundering, terrorist financing and illicit financial flows, and the CDBF deals with budgetary and financial discipline. The Constitution protects public freedoms. The Code de la Communication Médiatisée of 2016, modified by Loi 2020-006, provides the principal reviewed framework for media communication. Official information appears through the Présidence, Primature, ministries, Assemblée Nationale, HCC, Journal officiel and institutional websites. Madagascar has no single general freedom-of-information procedure evidenced in the reviewed sources, so access to a document depends on the responsible institution, publication rules and the relevant procedure. Public participation has also appeared through national consultations connected with the refoundation process. Security functions are divided among several bodies. The Ministère des Forces Armées and the State authority protect territorial integrity and public order. The Gendarmerie Nationale combines military-police and territorial security functions, while the Police Nationale handles urban security and judicial-police work. The BNGRC coordinates disaster-risk management and civil protection. In practice, prefectures and districts may coordinate the Army, Gendarmerie, Police, courts and territorial authorities. Ordinary procedures differ from emergency powers, and the applicable authority depends on the incident and location.