body-container-line-1

Rajoelina candidate leads Madagascar presidential vote

By AFP
Madagascar Hery Rajaonarimampianina casts his ballot in a polling station in Antananarivo on December 20, 2013 during the presidential election.  By Rijasolo AFPFile
DEC 30, 2013 LISTEN
Hery Rajaonarimampianina casts his ballot in a polling station in Antananarivo on December 20, 2013 during the presidential election. By Rijasolo (AFP/File)

Antananarivo (Madagascar) (AFP) - The candidate supported by Madagascar coup leader Andry Rajoelina held a decisive lead in the island's run-off presidential poll on Monday with ballots from nearly all voting stations in, results showed.

Hery Rajaonarimampianina, 55, had won 53 percent of the vote after more than 96 percent of 20,001 voting stations had been tallied, according to figures on the electoral commission's website which are still to be validated.

His rival Robinson Jean Louis, 61, the candidate of former leader Marc Ravalomanana who was ousted by Rajoelina in a 2009 coup, was trailing by 6.6 percent.

A total of 19,291 polling stations have been counted so far.

Both candidates had already declared themselves the winner, claiming vote rigging.

The polls are aimed at pulling the Indian Ocean island out of a political and economic crisis brought on by Rajoelina's army-backed overthrow of Ravalomanana.

Barred from running in the polls amid fears of a return to violence, the two main political players backed proxy candidates who went head-to-head on December 20 after an inconclusive first round in October.

Jean Louis, who has demanded a freeze on the release of results, was set to present evidence of fraud later Monday.

Despite the mud-slinging that followed the polls, international observers gave the vote the green light and called on the parties to respect the electoral process.

Only half of the island's 7.9 million eligible voters cast their ballot.

body-container-line