Madagascar votes in presidential election amid calls for boycott

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Voters in Madagascar Thursday headed to the polls for a presidential election boycotted by several opposition candidates.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT) and will close at 5 p.m. for 11 million registered voters, according to the election commission.

Thirteen candidates are vying for the post, including incumbent Andry Rajoelina, who is seeking a second term.

Soava Andriamarotafika, spokesperson for the electoral commission, said provisional results would be released on Nov. 24.

The second round of election will be conducted on Dec. 20 if none of the candidates receives a 50% of the vote.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and the European Union have deployed its election observers.

The campaigns were overshadowed by a series of protests called by opposition aspirants quelled with tear gas.

A coalition of 10 out of 12 opposition candidates, including former presidents Hery Rajaonarimampianina and Marc Ravalomanana, have called on voters to boycott the election over transparency concerns.

Rajoelina held his last campaign rally in the capital Antananarivo on Sunday before thousands of enthusiastic supporters.

There had been speculation Rajoelina’s candidature could be rejected surrounding his dual French-Malagasy nationality. He won the last vote in December 2018, beating Ravalomanana in the second round said to have been marred by irregularities.​​​​​​​