Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Two former presidents of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana, will face each other in a run-off election next month to decide who will lead the Indian Ocean island nation, the country’s top court announced Wednesday. The run-off comes after neither candidate won the 50 …
Read More »Madagascar rivals set for election run-off
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Two former presidents of Madagascar look set to compete in a hotly-contested run-off election in December after partial results Thursday showed they were frontrunners in the first-round vote. With 80 percent of the ballots counted from last week’s vote, Andry Rajoelina was on 39.63 percent …
Read More »Madagascar ex-president denies election bribery claims
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascar’s former president Andry Rajoelina on Monday rejected allegations by EU observers that he bribed local officials in return for their support in last week’s presidential vote. A European Union observer mission said in a report Monday that it had “noted candidates committed breaches” ahead …
Read More »Madagascar counts votes after presidential poll
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Election officials began counting ballots in Madagascar after Wednesday’s vote for a new president in which three former heads of state ran as the Indian Ocean island seeks to defuse a political crisis. Attempts by the most recent president Hery Rajaonarimampianina to change the island’s …
Read More »Madagascar goes to the polls to pick next president
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascar was voting on Wednesday for a new president in unprecedented polls in which the three front-runners are former heads of state facing-off amid efforts to defuse a political crisis. Attempts by the most recent president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, to change the large Indian Ocean island’s …
Read More »Madagascar’s ex-presidents prepare to do battle
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Thirty-six candidates will do battle to win the presidency in polls on November 7. The three frontrunners are former presidents and here are their profiles: – Ravalomanana: milkman-turned-millionaire – Marc Ravalomanana, 68, was ejected from power in 2009 and is looking to get his revenge …
Read More »Madagascar ex-presidents in final bid to return to power
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Two former Madagascar presidents drew tens of thousands of supporters to rival rallies in the capital Antananarivo on Saturday as they entered the final stretch of their election campaign. Former President Marc Ravalomanana and rival Andry Rajoelina are frontrunners in the November 7 ballot in …
Read More »Presidential poll embitters poor Madagascans
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | “If I was to vote, I would definitely vote for the rubbish bins because at least they feed us,” scoffed Claudine Rajaonarison. She had been scouring the streets of Antananarivo since 4:00 am for plastic to sell. Rajaonarison, a 35-year-old mother of three, said she …
Read More »Madagascar army calls for end to political crisis
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascar’s defence minister has appealed to warring political parties to reach an agreement, as anti-government protests in the capital continued for a twelth day. President Hery Rajaonarimampianina has refused to yield to opposition demands that he resign, seven months ahead of a general election. The opposition …
Read More »Madagascar’s president rules out resignation despite protests
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascar’s President Hery Rajaonarimampianina on Sunday refused to yield to opposition demands that he resign from office, following eight days of anti-government protests in the capital. “I am president by the will of the Malagasy people. There are millions of people who voted for me, it …
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