Former Madagascan president Andry Rajoelina has beaten his rival and predecessor Marc Ravalomanana in an election beset by allegations of fraud, the electoral commission said Thursday.
Photo: AFP Presidential candidate Andry Rajoelina attends the results proclamation ceremony at the CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission) in Antananarivon, Madagascar, on December 27, 2018.
Rajoelina has returned to power after he won 55.66 percent against 44.34 percent for Ravalomanana in the run-off vote held last week, it said.
The results, announced under high security, were quickly appealed by Ravalomana.
The defeated candidate filed papers with the Constitutional Court just hours after the electoral commission announced the election's complete results.
The court has nine days to formally name the new president after it has reviewed the petition.
Ravalomana's campaign director Anisoa Tseheno Rabenja accused the electoral commission of a "premeditated act" in helping Rajoelina commit "massive fraud".
Rajoelina meanwhile called for unity and a "democratic" transfer of power as he thanked those who voted for him and those who did not.
"I already came first in the first round, and the people of Madagascar have confirmed my victory in this second round," he said Rajoelina.
"What matters is that the people of Madagascar were able to express themselves freely," he added.
"My message is simple, the people of Madagascar no longer need a crisis, they need a wise, unifying leader".
The two-round election was plagued by mutual accusations of vote-rigging in a country with a long history of instability.
Heavily-armed police patrolled the area around the electoral commission offices for the announcement.
No victory celebrations were witnessed on the streets of the capital.
Rajoelina and Ravalomanana are former presidents and long-time rivals who have fought a fiercely personal duel for power.
They each spent lavishly on campaigning, with promises and handouts distributed liberally to voters, who are among the poorest in Africa.
