Madagascar’s leader orders lie detector tests for prospective ministers

In an unprecedented move to combat government corruption, Madagascar's new military leader, President Michael Randrianirina, has mandated that all applicants for ministerial positions must first pass a lie detector test. The president, who seized power in a coup in October 2025, announced the acquisition of a polygraph machine and a specialist to operate it. He explicitly stated the goal is to filter out corrupt individuals, setting a benchmark of seeking candidates who are "more than 60 per cent clean." This policy is a direct response to the widespread public frustration with graft and lack of services that fueled the uprising against the previous government.

Randrianirina, a colonel in an elite army unit, dissolved the entire cabinet last week and has now instituted this polygraph screening as a cornerstone of his administration's integrity drive. The process is strict: candidates who fail the test will be disqualified immediately and will not proceed to a personal interview with the president and the newly appointed prime minister. This drastic measure follows his ousting of President Andry Rajoelina after weeks of protests by a population, particularly the youth, who are exasperated by systemic poverty in a resource-rich nation of approximately 32 million people. The initiative represents a novel, if controversial, application of forensic technology in political appointments, aiming to rebuild trust in a government historically plagued by corruption allegations.