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Rajoelina re-elected president in Madagascar
Andry Rajoelina cast his vote at a polling station last week. photo
© Sitraka Rajaonarison/XinHua/dpa
Amid protests and calls for a boycott, Andry Rajoelina secures another term in office. The opposition accuses Rajoelina of trying to stay in power using illegal means.
Despite an opposition boycott, President Andry Rajoelina has been re-elected in the southeast African island nation of Madagascar.
Rajoelina received 58.95 percent of the vote and will therefore begin a second five-year term, the national election commission said. The opposition candidates Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, Marc Ravalomanana and Sendrison Raderanirina followed with 14, 4 percent, 12.1 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.
Ten of the twelve opposition candidates had called on their supporters to stay away from the vote on November 16th. However, some of them still received votes because they were listed on the ballot papers that had already been printed. According to the electoral commission, there was a voter turnout of a good 46 percent. The announcement of the election results on Saturday morning in the capital All twelve opposition candidates stayed away from Antananarivo.
Accusation of bribing the electoral commission
The opposition in the country of 25 million people, known for its vanilla, accuses Rajoelina of trying to stay in power using illegal means. She accuses Rajoelina of bribing the Constitutional Court and the electoral commission to strengthen his election campaign. Before the election there were repeated protest marches by the opposition, some of which were violently broken up by the police. The United Nations has expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in the Indian Ocean country.
The results of Rajoelina’s term in office are poor: in the past five years, poverty has increased and the level of education has fallen. The supply of electricity and drinking water has also deteriorated.