Madagascar Development

JOHANNESBURG, 11 December (IRIN) - Provisional results show president Marc Ravalomanana has been re-elected in what observers have generally considered free and fair elections. Although some votes - but not enough to influence the results - still need to be counted, government projections gave Ravalomanana 54.80 percent of the presidential ballot on 3 December, a comfortable lead that will allow him to avoid a second round runoff. "The elections went quite well. There won't be a need for a second round, [and the result] seems to be accepted by the opposition," Solofo Randrianja, professor of Political History at the University of Toamasina, told IRIN. According to the Ministry of Interior and Reform (MIRA), voter turnout was 61.45 percent. Jean Lahiniriko, the recently sacked president of the National Assembly, was Ravalomanana's closest challenger with 11.68 percent, and Roland Ratsiraka, Mayor of Madagascar's second city, Toamasina, and nephew of former presiden

ANTANANARIVO (AFP) - The third-place finisher in Madagascar's presidential elections last week has filed suit challenging the victory of incumbent Marc Ravalomanana and demanding a second-round run-off. ADVERTISEMENT Roland Ratsiraka, nephew of the Indian Ocean island's former leader whom Ravalomanana ousted five years ago, said Monday official results giving the president more than 50 percent of the vote in the December 3 polls were fraudulent. The challenge, filed with Madagascar's High Constitutional Court, raises the specter of a repeat of the crisis that engulfed the country after the 2001 polls when Ratsiraka's uncle refused to accept defeat to Ravalomanana. According to the younger Ratsiraka's camp, this year's election was marred by an influx of unknown voters and official results giving Ravalomanana 54.8 percent of the votes could not be believed. They said their own figures showed Ravalomanana with only 47.5 percent of the vote and Ratsiraka coming in

Madagascar High Constitutional Court (HCC) began its process on Monday to verify the validity of the presidential election on December 3 as vote counting was completed by Sunday evening. The process began in all of 116 counties across the country immediately after the completion of the account, a senior HCC official told Xinhua on Monday. It would last for 20 days and final result would be announced officially by HCC as soon as verification was over, said the chief of HCC secretariat, who gave his name only as Rauson. The Interior Ministry announced Sunday evening that Marc Ravalomanana was re-elected as Madagascar's president for the next five years as vote counting was completed. Ravalomanana had beaten 13 other challengers and won 54.8 percent of the votes in the election, according to a release by the Interior Ministry, which oversaw the vote counting. A total of 4,521,267 voters, or 61.45 percent out of legitimate voters of 7,457,204, cast their votes across the Indian Ocean i

OTTAWA, December 8, 2006 — The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced two full-time reappointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). These reappointments were made in accordance with the IRB’s merit-based reappointment process. Joulekhan Pirbay has been reappointed as a full-time member in the Montreal regional office for a term of one year, effective October 20, 2006. Ms. Pirbay has been with the Board since October 20, 1997. Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Pirbay was a member of the National Settlement Committee of the Ismaili Council for Canada, the Director of FOCUS Canada, a literature and language teacher and a small-business owner. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Madagascar and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Hispanic Studies from the University of Montreal. Paule Robitaille has been reappointed as a full-time member in the Montreal regional office for a term

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar -- Madagascar's president has been re-elected in the Indian Ocean island country, officials said Saturday, as authorities raided a former president's home searching for the leader of a failed coup. President Marc Ravalomanana, a charismatic dairy tycoon known as the "The Milkman," won 55 percent of the Dec. 3 vote to beat 13 challengers, election officials said. He needed to win at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off. PHOTOS The week's events from around the world, captured in pictures. » VIEW THIS WEEK'S PHOTOS Save & Share Article What's This? DiggGoogle del.icio.usYahoo! RedditFacebook He has promised a five-year development plan to reduce poverty, the dominant issue in a country were 70 percent of the island's 17 million people live on less than $1 a day. Earlier this week, representatives for Lahiniriko Jean, the former head of the National Assembly, who trailed with 11 percent of the vote, said they woul

For the first time, the World Mayor top ten includes a city leader from Africa. Patrick Ramiaramanana, Mayor of Antananarivo, also a finalist in 2005, is one of Africa’s most respected mayors. He has also been honoured internationally and is admired by his peers from around the world. One commentator says: “In spite of the poverty in Madagascar, Patrick Ramiaramanana has changed the city to makes visitors and poor citizen believe that it is possible to keep the city attractive, clean, with well maintained infrastructure with a minimum of money. Thus, beauty, good management and security do not always need to cost huge amounts of money. The Mayor has succeeded thanks to his personal skills, courage and management style.” Profile | Comments

Madagascar on Friday halted the release of partial results from weekend elections, which are expected to have been won by incumbent President Marc Ravalomanana, citing technical and computer problems. The interior ministry said it had been forced to "temporarily suspend" the announcement of results from Sunday's polls so that engineers could fix equipment damaged by what it suspected was faulty electricity supplies. "The release of partial provisional returns had been temporarily suspended to allow technicians to repair damaged computer equipment," said a notice posted by interior ministry officials. It said repeated power surges may be to blame for the problems, which forced a stop to the announcements around 6am (03h00 GMT) and shut down the ministry's official website. "We don't know yet when we will be able to start again," ministry official Lalao Rasamoely told AFP. "We have six technicians trying to fix it now." The last results

The Associated PressPublished: December 9, 2006 ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar: Madagascar's incumbent president has won elections in the Indian Ocean island, officials said Saturday. Marc Ravalomanana beat 13 other challengers in the Dec. 3 election, winning 55.1 percent of the vote with results from 96 percent of polling stations, elections officials said. The final 35,000 votes were expected to be counted by Sunday morning, but were not expected to change the result, said Charles Rabemananjara, minister of the interior. "We have to wait for the decision of the Constitutional High Court but as far as the ministry is concerned, this election is over," he said. Ravalomanana, a charismatic dairy tycoon know as "the Milkman," needed to win at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off. His nearest rival, Lahiniriko Jean, the former head of the National Assembly, trailed behind with 11.4 percent of the vote. The election was Madagascar's first since voting five

Antananarivo - Election observers applauded Madagascar's presidential poll on Tuesday despite some reservations as millionaire leader Marc Ravalomanana stormed towards a second term on the vast Indian Ocean island. Preliminary results from nearly 14% of polling stations showed the dairy tycoon and pre-election favourite ahead with 65.6% of Sunday's vote on the world's fourth biggest island. The private Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (Eisa) said the vote was broadly free and fair, though there had been some mistakes on electoral lists, and disparities between candidates' access to financial and media resources. "Despite the gaps and weaknesses, it was conducted to a large degree in a manner which allowed the Malagasy people to express freely their democratic choice," said former Mauritius prime minister Paul Berenger, leading the Eisa team. Observers from Madagascar and other international groups said they generally supported those conclusions. "Ma

In Madagascar, preliminary returns from Sunday's presidential election show the incumbent in the lead. International observers say the balloting was orderly, although they have criticized some aspects of the process. VOA Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg. Election officials in Madagascar say voter turnout was relatively high in Sunday's presidential election. Most ballots from the capital region have been tabulated, although returns from some rural areas have yet to arrive. President Marc Ravalomanana, a wealthy businessman, was running for a second five-year term against 13 challengers. The director of the Elections Institute of Southern Africa, which monitored the vote, Dennis Kadima, says voting was peaceful, and he was impressed by the efficiency of the counting of the color-coded ballots. "Different candidates had different colors [for ballots]. All they had to do was to take it out of the envelopes, and attribute it to t

ANTANANARIVO, 4 December (IRIN) - Only inclement weather disrupted Madagascar's first round of presidential elections on Sunday, but it also helped to defuse one of the few election-related disturbances. "I am very, very proud to see the Malagasy wisdom. It is a big challenge for us, in Madagascar, to organise democratic, free and transparent elections. Thank you, Malagasy people!" incumbent president Marc Ravalomanana told the media after voting at a polling station in the capital, Antananarivo. Fears that the presidential poll might rekindle the political animosities of the previous presidential election, which plunged the island into a near civil war, have so far proved unfounded. About seven million registered voters - around 800,000 more than participated in the disputed 2001 election - had a choice of 14 presidential candidates, although Ravalomanana, 57, a "self-made man" who began his career as a milkman before becoming one of the country's richest b

In Madagascar, campaigning is winding down and voters are preparing to go to the polls Sunday to elect a president. The process has been marked by boycotts, procedural disputes and a would-be coup attempt, but international observers say they hope the polling will be orderly. VOA’s Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa bureau in Johannesburg. Some six million registered voters Sunday are to choose Madagascar’s next president from a field of candidates that include President Marc Ravalomanana, who is running for a second term, and 13 opponents from various political backgrounds. International observers say the process has gone relatively smoothly despite some notable disputes. The Director of the Elections Institute of Southern Africa, Dennis Kadima, says a number of candidates have criticized what they say is a lack of transparency. “They can’t understand that the number of voters is only 200,000 more than five years ago, while the population has grown by 3.2 percent every year,

ANTANANARIVO (AFP) - Voting has got under way slowly but calmly in Madagascar's presidential election in which incumbent Marc Ravalomanana was tipped as strong favourite out of 14 candidates. Around seven million voters are due to cast their ballots in the first election since the poverty-stricken Indian Ocean island nation teetered on the brink of civil war after disputed polls five years ago. Voting in the 17,500 polling stations spread over the vast island of 18 million people began peacefully, despite a campaign punctuated by unease and opposition complaints. "The vote is very calm, like the end of the campaign," election observer and former Mauritian prime minister Paul Beranger told journalists on Sunday. The run-up to this year's election has also been relatively tranquil compared to 2001 when Ravalomanana waged a bitter battle against ex-president Didier Ratsiraka. But memories of post-electoral violence in 2002 still haunt Madagascans, and 100 foreign electio

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - The giant Indian Ocean island of Madagascar began voting on Sunday in a presidential election widely expected to be won by incumbent Marc Ravalomanana, a self-made dairy tycoon. Voting on the world's fourth biggest island started calmly at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and was due to end at 6 p.m. The winner will need more than 50 percent of votes to avoid a second round runoff. Ravalamonana, who won power in 2002 after a bitter eight-month crisis that brought Madagascar close to civil war, is bidding for a second term to continue economic reforms in one of the world's poorest countries. Reuters Pictures Editors Choice: Best pictures from the last 24 hours. View Slideshow The dairy tycoon has run a slick campaign on the strategic island, eclipsing lackluster efforts by his opponents, and could win outright in Sunday's first round. If he falls short of this, a second round will be held in late January. Ravalomanana, who began his career selling yogurts from the

More than 30 000 supporters crammed into the last campaign rally by Marc Ravalomanana, the Madagascan president, yesterday dwarfing his rivals' efforts and confirming him as frontrunner in tomorrow's election. The crowd, wearing white caps and T-shirts decorated with Ravalomanana's face, filled the stands and playing area at a football stadium in the capital of this Indian Ocean island, one of the world's poorest countries. Ravalomanana, a handsome, self-made dairy tycoon, received a pop-star welcome from the crowds who overwhelmed stewards and swept through barriers to surround the podium, singing along to campaign songs as the president waved a party flag. Women screamed when he smiled towards their section of the crowd. Several people fainted in the heat during his speech, punctuated by entertainment from local pop groups and traditional singers and dancers. Ravalomanana's opponents have attracted less than 10 000 people to their biggest rallies and several meeti

Presidential election campaign in Madagascar closed peacefully on Friday with signs showing that ruling President Marc Ravalomanana gaining an upper hand during the campaign, which kicked off on November 12. Improvement of living standards and a smooth transition of political institutions have become the main campaign issues as Madagascar edges closer to D-Day on Sunday. During the campaign, President Marc Ravalomanana asked 6.9 million voters to give him another five years to fulfill his dream of building a better and more prosperous nation with a population of 17.5 million. A total of 14 candidates, including Marc Ravalomanana and Elia Ravelomanantsoa, the only female candidate who campaigned on a " national" ticket, contested the eighth presidential polls since independence of the Indian Ocean island in 1960. Other challengers include Pierrot Rajaonarivelo of the Association of the Rebirth of Madagascar (AREMA) party; former speaker of the National Assembly, Jean Lahinirik

Under the eyes of the world this time, Madagascar goes to the polls on Sunday in presidential elections that will test its democratic credibility. The last presidential contest, in 2001, from which then-president Didier Ratsiraka banned observers, split the country for six months and drove it to the point of civil war. Ratsiraka refused to acknowledge the victory of Marc Ravalomanana and attempted to run an alternative government until he fled into exile in France. Ratsiraka is not contesting this poll, although his nephew Roland, the mayor of Toamasina, is running under the banner of another party. Two weeks ago, Ratsiraka’s former deputy prime minister, Pierrot Rajaonarivelo -- sought on corruption charges -- tried to return from exile in France. However, he was barred from landing in his stronghold, Toamasina. Rajaona­rivelo’s candidacy was ruled out by the supreme court because he botched the registration. The people of Madagascar are irked by the negative publicity generated by th