He thinks that because there was no real opposition in the last elections - the former ruling party Arema boycotted the polls - there are no real political entities and that leaves a vacuum that the Church is happy to fill.

BBC: Madagascar mixes religion and politics

However, the electoral developments have caused some controversy even within the ruling party, with some MPs complaining that in cutting the size of the TIM-dominated lower house, while prolonging the term of the indirectly elected senate where the opposition Alliance pour la Renaissance de Madagascar (Arema) is dominant the president is failing to recognise where his support base lies.

ECONOMIST: Madagascar's government calls an early election