Madagascar - November 2023
Incumbent President re-elected in election marked by opposition boycotts and low turnout
Madagascar’s presidential election was held on 16 November, resulting in a victory on the first ballot for incumbent President Andry Rajoelina. Ten of the twelve other candidates decided to boycott the election late the process, thus leaving their names on the ballots. Several legal challenges to the provisional results of the election were filed, but these were dismissed by the courts and on 2 December the High Constitutional Court declared Rajoelina the winner. The national election commission (Commission électorale nationale indépendante, CENI) reported turnout to be 46.4 per cent of the registered voters, down from 53.9 per cent in 2018. Rajoelina received 58.9 per cent of the votes, while the two leading opposition candidates, Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko and Marc Ravalomanana, received 14.4 and 12.1 per cent, respectively. There were no female candidates. An observer mission from the African Union noted that the election took place in a fraught political atmosphere ‘characterized by acts of violence,’ following a month of demonstrations, and that turnout was lower among women than men.
Sources: Commission électorale nationale indépendante, African Union, Reuters, Al Jazeera
