Madagascar poll gets thumbs up

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.

"Madagascans voted freely for the most part, but there were some irregularities which could have been avoided," said Patrice, who said he did not have a second name and is president of the national commission of election observers.

Ravalomanana will win outright

Ravalomanana, 56, who built a business empire after hawking yoghurts from the back of his bike, conducted a slick, Western-style campaign. He toured the country by helicopter and used his wealth, media empire and presidential power to eclipse weak efforts by 13 rivals.

Ravalomanana ousted the previous president, Didier Ratsiraka, in 2002 with a mixture of mass demonstrations and military force, after the long-term Marxist president contested Ravalomanana's 2001 election victory.

Roland Ratsiraka, nephew of the former president, stood in second place in counting from Sunday's vote with 8.8% of the vote, the preliminary results showed.

Herizo Razafimahaleo, a western-educated businessman, and former prime minister Norbert Lala Ratsirahonana had 7.15% and 6.99% of the poll, respectively.

Ravalomanana will win outright if he can take more than 50% of votes. Otherwise a second round would be held 30 days after final results are published later this month.

Ravalomanana campaigned on his record of economic reforms and infrastructure building, especially a new network of roads that has improved access to markets for farmers.

But the opposition says he has not done enough to reverse poverty on the island, which stretches for 1 590km off the east coast of Africa and remains one of the world's poorest nations.

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