Millionaire president expected to win Madagascar election

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.

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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 back of a bike, confirmed his frontrunner status on Friday when he pulled in more than 30,000 enthusiastic supporters to his last campaign rally.

Final rallies by his opponents attracted less than a thousand people.

Many Madagascans believe the result is a foregone conclusion even though some, especially in the cities where the impact of rising global oil prices is felt most strongly, say the president did not do enough in his first term to combat poverty.

There are 13 opposition candidates, including the only woman, Elia Ravelomanantsoa. But several are boycotting the poll and the others started their campaigns late after haggling over procedural issues.

CHALLENGE

The strongest challenge is likely to come from veteran politician Norbert Lala Ratsirahonana, 68, a former prime minister who many expect to face Ravalomanana if the vote goes to a second round.

The next strongest challenger is businessman Herizo Razafimahaleo, a Western-educated economist who has attacked Ravalomanana's record in combating Madagascar's extreme poverty.

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But Western donors and many Madagascans, especially in the countryside, credit Ravalomanana with starting significant reforms to repair the economy including an ambitious road building program.

The World Bank said recently that the program, which has greatly improved the access of farmers to their markets, had nurtured the longest period of rural growth in 30 years.

Because of this, many Madagascans seem ready to give Ravalomanana a second chance despite a drop in his popularity since he first came to power in 2002, when he ousted former President Didier Ratsiraka after a disputed election and the bitter political crisis.

Ravalomanana eventually prevailed with a combination of massive street demonstrations and military force.

"It is true that things are not perfect but the present government has made progress and we will see if the president succeeds with a second mandate," said Leon Rabary, a chicken farmer from the outskirts of Antananarivo.

Madagascar is the world's top vanilla grower and a source of precious gems. It has the potential to greatly boost tourism and international oil and mining companies are prospecting for what are believed to be rich reserves.

Nevertheless it remains one of the poorest countries in the world with 75 percent of its population living on less than $1 a day.

(Additional reporting by Ed Harris and Alain Iloniaina)

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.



By Barry Moody

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