On April 19, Madagascar's President Rajoelina revealed that the government would implement polygraph tests for ministerial candidates as part of an effort to combat corruption. This decision comes on the heels of widespread protests that erupted in September 2022, primarily among youth, who criticized rampant corruption among politicians as well as the chronic issues of power outages and water shortages in the country. Following a coup in October, Rajoelina assumed the presidency, with a focus on restoring faith in governance and tackling corruption.

During the announcement, Rajoelina stated that the aim of using polygraphs is to identify who among the candidates is involved in corruption and who can contribute positively to the government. He emphasized that he is not looking for individuals who are completely innocent but rather those who are less than 60% involved in corruption. Candidates who pass the polygraph test will then face interviews with the president and the prime minister before being considered for their positions.

Madagascar has struggled with corruption, as highlighted by its low ranking in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, where it scored only 25 points out of 100 last year, placing it 148th out of 182 countries assessed. Additionally, over 70% of the population felt that corruption had increased over the past year, indicating an urgent need for reform and a transparent approach to governance to regain the trust of Malagasy citizens.