Presidential elections were held in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

on 7 November. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round involving the top two candidates, Andry Rajoelina and

Marc Ravalomanana Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who served as the sixth List of presidents of Madagascar, president of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina people, Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near th ...

, was held on 19 December. On 27 December Rajoelina was announced as the winner with 56% of the vote.

Electoral system

The

President of Madagascar This is a list of presidents of Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Af ...

is elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a run-off will be held.

Candidates

Former President

, who resigned following a

political crisis A cabinet crisis, government crisis or political crisis refers to a situation where an incumbent government is unable to form or function, is toppled through an uprising, or collapses. Political crises may correspond with, cause or be caused by an ...

in 2009, announced that he would run again for the presidency. His successor, Andry Rajoelina, also announced his intention to contest the elections.Madagascar: élection présidentielle les 24 novembre et 24 décembre 2018 (ministre)
TV4 Monde, 3 March 2018 Incumbent

Hery Rajaonarimampianina Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina Rakotoarimanana (; ; born 6 November 1958) is a Malagasy politician who served as the seventh President of Madagascar from 2014 to 2018, resigning to run for re-election. Previously he served as Minister of Fina ...

unsuccessfully sought to block Ravaolmanana and Rajoelina from running on grounds that they had participated in the 2009 coup d'état. In September 2018, Rajaonarimampianina stepped down to run for reelection, allowing a caretaker government to administer the vote, in accordance with the constitution. There were a record 36 candidates in the race (surpassing the previous record of 33), including four of the five most recent

presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...

. However, only five candidates were women, seen by some of illustrating the historic patriarchal dominance of Malagasy politics and culture.

Campaign

Despite the majority of Malagasy people living in poverty, the elections are expected to be one of the most expensive per capita in 2018. The top three candidates;

, Andry Rajoelina, and

are at a significant financial advantage over the other contenders, with candidate Ny Rado Rafalimanana complaining that due to financial constraints, it was impossible for any other candidate to compete with the top three, as there are no campaign finance limits. Some election observers believe that the winner of the election will have more to do with that candidate's financial power and influence than their political positions. The lavish spending on the election has also been criticized due to the large amount of poverty in the country, with many believing the money could be better spent elsewhere. Although two-thirds of the population is under 25, turnout and interest among young people is low.

Results

References

{{Malagasy elections

Presidentia election

Presidential elections in Madagascar