Andry Rajoelina - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Madagascar leader wins presidential vote, constitutional court says

MADAGASCAR'S incumbent President Andry Rajoelina was declared the winner of last month's election by the country's High Constitutional Court, which handed him a third term after dismissing various challenges to provisional results. "Andry Rajoelina is elected as the president of the Republic of Madagascar and is taking his functions as soon as the swearing (in is conducted)," said court head Florent Rakotoarisoa. He received 58.96% of the votes cast, the court said. The challenges to the electoral body's provisional count that were dismissed included one from the runner-up, lawmaker Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko. He got 14.39% of the vote, according to the…

Nov

2023

By LOVASOA RABARY

Madagascar President Rajoelina cements lead in boycotted election

NEWS

MADAGASCAR'S incumbent President Andry Rajoelina has cemented his lead in an election marked by low turnout and an opposition boycott and appeared poised to secure a third term, with over a third of voting centres reporting results. Rajoelina, a 49-year-old entrepreneur and former DJ who first rose to power on the Indian Ocean island in a 2009 coup, had garnered 62.9% of the vote by late on Sunday, from a turnout of just 43.1%, preliminary results shared by the election commission showed. Opposition protesters clashed with police on several occasions in the run-up to the poll, saying Rajoelina should not…

Nov

2023

By LOVASOA RABARY

Madagascar president takes huge lead in early results of low turnout vote

NEWS

MADAGASCAR'S President Andry Rajoelina took a predictably commanding early lead in his bid for re-election in a vote marked by low turnout and an opposition boycott, preliminary results showed. The 49-year-old entrepreneur and former DJ rose to power on the Indian Ocean island in a 2009 coup, stepped down after almost five years as leader of a transitional authority, and then won a 2018 election. The opposition says he should not have run again in Thursday's poll because he acquired French nationality in 2014 - which they say automatically revokes his Malagasy one - and has created unfair election conditions. He says…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Madagascar’s 2023 presidential election is crucial for the island’s future, but it’s off to a rocky start

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MADAGASCAR is set to elect its president on 16 November 2023, for the next five years. There’s a lot at stake. I’ve studied Madagascar’s politics – focusing on democratisation and political transitions – and believe that this election is crucial for the consolidation, or deepening, of democracy. ADRIEN RATSIMBAHARISON, Professor of Political Science, Benedict College Democratic consolidation is vital. It fosters political stability, protects individual rights, and ensures that power is exercised by elected representatives who are accountable to the people. Madagascar has, over the past couple of decades, struggled to consolidate its democracy. The so-called 2009 coup d'état –…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

20 charged with plotting to kill Madagascar president

NEWS

TWENTY people, including two French nationals, were charged on Monday with plotting to kill Madagascar's president and other offences as their trial began in the Indian Ocean island nation. Madagascar has a history of political violence. Former coup leader Andry Rajoelina, 44, was sworn in as president in 2019 after a hard-fought election and a constitutional court challenge from his rival. The suspects, all of whom were present in court, were formally charged with counts including criminal conspiracy, criminal association, rebellion against the president and possession of illegal weapons. They have all denied the charges. The lawyer for Paul Rafanoharana,…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Six arrested for plot to kill president

NEWS

LOVASOA RABARY MADAGASCAN police have arrested six people, including a foreign national, on suspicion of plotting to kill the president, after months of investigation, officials said. Andry Rajoelina was sworn in as president of the Indian Ocean island country in 2019 after a hard-fought election and a constitutional court challenge from his rival. "According to the evidence in our possession, these individuals had devised a plan for the elimination and neutralization of a number of people including the head of state," the attorney general said in a statement. It added that investigations were underway and further details could not be…