President Marc Ravalomanana’s party won an absolute majority in the country’s parliamentary elections, the interior ministry said on Saturday – marking solid support for the new president.
With most of returns reported from last week’s election, Ravalomanana’s party Tiako i Madagasikara, or I Love Madagascar, won over 80 of the National Assembly’s 160 seats, officials from the interior ministry said.
The win was expected to smooth the way for Ravalomanana’s setting of a political agenda. He came to office earlier this year after ousting long-time leader Didier Ratsiraka in a messy, six-month power struggle that divided this Indian Ocean island nation between rival governments.
Votes from about 20 districts – most of them in remote areas – were still not in, but final results were expected by next week, officials said.
AREMA, the former ruling party under Ratsiraka, was almost wiped out in the election and was expected to retain only a handful of seats.
More than 1 300 candidates from 40 parties contested the election. Observers said the election had been peaceful. Both Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka claimed the presidency after a disputed election held December 16 last year. After months of standoff Ratsiraka fled the country for France in June.
Ravalomanana has since cemented his power throughout the country. Madagascar, a former French colony, lies off the south-eastern coast of Africa. – Sapa-AP