Madagascar’s former president returns to power

By Alaattin Dogru

DAKAR, Senegal

Madagascar's former leader Andry Rajoelina has been declared the winner of the country's presidential election, according to the full provisional results released Thursday by the electoral commission.

Rajoelina won 55.66 percent of the vote compared with 44.34 percent for his rival, Marc Ravalomanana, in the second round of polls, the commission said.

Voter turnout was just over 48 percent, it added.

Ravalomanana, the former head of state from 2003 to 2009, accused Rajoelina of electoral fraud, noting he will appeal the results. He has two days to file the paperwork with the Constitutional Court.

The court will declare the final election results after nine days.

Rajoelina replaced Ravalomanana as the nation’s leader in 2009 following a military coup and officially stepped down on Jan. 25, 2014.

On Nov. 7, neither candidate won the 50 percent required for a first-round victory, with Rajoelina receiving 39.19 percent of the vote and Ravalomanana getting 35.29 percent, prompting the run-off vote.