Former PM in landmark Madagascar peace-deal

MBABANE - Former Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini has reached a milestone achievement by being part of the team that arrived at a breakthrough to the Madagascar political crisis.

A.T, as the erstwhile Premier is affectionately known, was commissioned by His Majesty King Mswati III to lead a team of the SADC troika on Defence, Peace and Security.
The team, which included representatives from Angola and Mozambique, met with international mediators to negotiate a resolution to the crisis in Madagascar, which is chaired by the king.

The mediators comprised representatives of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Organisation international de la Francophone and the United Nations.  
The mediators have announced that the Madagascar rival parties have agreed on an election within 14 months, in which both the ousted president marc Ravalo-manana and the leader who overthrew him, Andry Rajoelina, could stand for presidency.

A statement issued by the mediators said the parties had also agreed on the formation of a range of transitional institutions including a ‘High Transitional Authority and a Transitional Government of National Unity’ to rule the country pending elections.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Lutfo Dlamini yesterday said the breakthrough was a positive development towards normalising things in Madagascar.

“The main problem was that the rival parties wanted former presidents to be excluded from the forthcoming elections but that suggestion has since been thrown out through the window,” the Minister said.
Dlamini said the break-through did not mean that everything was now back to normal but negotiations to that effect were still on-going.