Critics of the government see the ban as part of a larger effort to shut down dissent before the elections in November.

Radio France International (RFI) says that the government of Madagascar has banned public protests because people are worried that they will be stifled. This is happening seven months before the presidential election.

RFI, which is owned by France, reported on Monday that the minister of the interior said on state TV that political protests would not be allowed in public but could be held in "an enclosed place" to keep public order.

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Friday was when the news came out. The La Gazette de la Grande newspaper said a day earlier that its offices had been searched after the arrest of its owner, Lola Rasoamaharo.

RFI said that Rasoamaharo has been charged with slander and blackmail.

Critics of the government said that the ban on protests and the arrest of Rasoamaharo are examples of recent crackdowns on dissent in the 29 million-person island nation before the first round of presidential elections in November.

President Andry Rajoelina is likely to run for office again.

Hajo Andrianainarivelo, the leader of the Malagasy opposition party MMM and a former cabinet minister, said, "Today, we are moving toward a dictatorship."

Reporters Without Borders' index of press freedom put Madagascar at number 98 out of 180 countries in 2022.

In July, hundreds of people gathered in the capital, Antananarivo, to protest the rising cost of living and the worsening economy. Two opposition leaders were arrested at the time.

A few weeks later, 18 people died when police opened fire on what they called a "lynch mob" that was angry about the kidnapping of an albino child in the southeast of the country.

In the past few months, Madagascar has also been hit by devastating cyclones, which have made it even harder for one of the poorest countries in the world to make a living.

When Cyclone Cheneso hit Madagascar's western coast in January, it killed more than two dozen people and forced tens of thousands to leave their homes. Two months later, Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar. It killed more than 220 people and forced almost 60,000 others to leave their homes.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES