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Madagascar President Rajoelina cements lead in boycotted election

Madagascar President Rajoelina cements lead in boycotted election

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

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

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…
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20 charged with plotting to kill Madagascar president

20 charged with plotting to kill Madagascar president

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,…
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French citizen among six held over plan to kill Madagascar president -minister

French citizen among six held over plan to kill Madagascar president -minister

LOVASOA RABARY A French citizen is among six people arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to kill Madagascar's president, the Indian Ocean island's public security minister said, and a second official said the president's security had been tightened. "One of the arrested people is French, two of them are bi-national - Malagasy and French. The three others are Malagasy," Rodellys Fanomezantsoa Randrianarison told a news conference late on Thursday. Madagascar's attorney general said on Thursday police had arrested the six following what officials said was a months-long investigation. Patrick Rajoelina, an adviser to President Andry Rajoelina, told Reuters…
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Six arrested for plot to kill president

Six arrested for plot to kill president

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…
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