Andry Rajoelina has secured a third term in office in an election marked by low turnout and an opposition boycott.

MadagascarPresident Andry Rajoelina has effectively secured a third term in office after the electoral body (CENI) said he received the most votes in an election marked by low turnout and an opposition boycott.

Preliminary results announced by CENI on Saturday at the end of counting showed Rajoelina receiving 58.9 percent of the vote, followed by Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, a lawmaker, who received 14.4 percent. The country’s Supreme Constitutional Court is required to announce the final results within nine days of the electoral body announcing the preliminary results.

“The Malagasy people have chosen the path of continuity, serenity and stability,” said Rajoelina, a 49-year-old entrepreneur and former DJ, after the results were announced.

“I thank the Malagasy people who now refuse to choose the wrong path, who no longer accept taking the path of unrest. Democracy is exercised through elections and not in the streets or through riots.”

But Randrianasoloniaiko told AFP on Saturday that he had appealed to the country’s top court seeking annulment Voting result.

“I submitted two motions to request the cancellation of the vote and the exclusion of Andry Rajoelina,” Randrianasoloniaiko told the agency, denouncing electoral fraud.

Opposition candidates said on Friday they would not accept the results.

“We cannot legitimize the results that will come out,” said Hajo Andrianainarivelo, who was among 10 of the 13 candidates initially approved and called on voters to boycott the election.

He said the poll was marred by irregularities, including intimidation of election officials and the use of public funds by the ruling party, which has denied the claims.

“Unfair” conditions

The majority of the opposition, united in the so-called Collectif des 10 – a group of 10 candidates – boycotted the election. The group has led almost daily street protests in the capital Antananarivo in recent weeks, several of which were dispersed with tear gas and police arrested many participants and bystanders.

The United Nations human rights office said Malagasy security forces used “unnecessary and disproportionate force” against peaceful protesters.

Opposition supporters claimed Rajoelina should not have run because he acquired French nationality in 2014 – which they said automatically revoked his Malagasy nationality – and created unfair electoral conditions.

Collectif des 10 later asked the electoral body to postpone the election, saying the state must first appoint independent officials to the electoral body. When CENI refused, they decided to ask voters to boycott the election.

Subsequently, only three candidates took part in the election campaign. According to CENI, around 46.4 percent of voters cast their votes, with the opposition describing this as the lowest turnout in the country’s history.

Rajoelina first came to power in the Indian Ocean island nation in a coup in 2009. He then resigned after nearly five years as head of an interim authority and became president again after winning an election in 2018.