 After France adopted the Constitution of the Fifth Republic under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle, on September 28, 1958, a referendum was held in the Colony of Madagascar to determine whether the country should become a self-governing republic within the French Community.The AKFM and other nationalists opposed to the concept of limited self-rule mustered about 25 percent of votes cast.The vast majority of the population, at the urging of the Social Democratic Party of Madagascar and the Comoros (PSD) leadership, voted in favor.