Former Madagascar president Andry Rajoelina has beaten his rival and predecessor Marc Ravalomanana in the presidential election beset by allegations of fraud from both sides.
Announcing the full provisional results on Thursday, the African country’s electoral commission said Rajoelina got over 55 percent votes against Ravalomanana’s 44.34 percent.
The Indian Ocean island nation’s constitutional court has nine days to declare the final election results, which may be contested by Ravalomanana.
Just over 48 percent of the country’s 10 million registered voters cast their ballots in the December 19 runoff between the candidates, both former heads of state and bitter rivals.