In Madagascar, the current President Andry Rajoelina has strengthened his position in an election characterized by a low voter turnout and a boycott by the opposition. It seems likely that he will secure a third term, as the results from over a third of voting centers have been reported.
Rajoelina, a 49-year-old entrepreneur and former DJ, initially came to power in a coup in 2009. The preliminary results shared by the election commission on Sunday showed that he had secured 62.9% of the vote, with a turnout of just 43.1%.
Leading up to the election, opposition protesters clashed with police several times, arguing that Rajoelina should not have been allowed to run for office due to his acquisition of French nationality in 2014. They claim that this acquisition automatically revoked his Malagasy nationality and created unfair election conditions.
Key opposition figures, including two former presidents, publicly criticized Rajoelina’s eligibility to run for office and urged their supporters to abstain from voting.
Rajoelina has dismissed these allegations as baseless political tactics.
(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary; writing by Giulia Paravicini; Editing by Hereward Holland and Bernadette Baum)
