International observers have described
Madagascar's presidential election as free and transparent, as results slowly
come through.
Friday's poll was the first to be held on the island since a
coup in 2009.
Preliminary results show that an ally of the ousted leader Marc
Ravalomanana has taken an early lead.
Richard Jean-Louis Robinson has about 30% of the votes so far,
while his main rival Hery Martial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina has just
over 15%.
Full results cold take as long as a week to emerge.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes cast, a
second round will be held on 20 December.
Election pledges
The EU's chief election observer, Maria Muniz de Urquiza,
described Friday's elections as "free, transparent and credible",
despite isolated incidents of violence.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the head of the observer mission for the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), said the elections were
"peaceful, calm, fair and transparent, and reflect the will of the
people".
The two front-runners, Mr Rajaonarimampianina and Mr Robinson,
have both pledged to rebuild Madagascar's economy after years of political
unrest.
More than 92% of the country's 21 million people live on less
than $2 (£1.20) a day, according to the World Bank.
Mr Rajaonarimampianina says he aims to help the unemployed,
build infrastructure to improve agriculture, reform the education system and
make Madagascar a strong democracy.
Mr Robinson says that his electoral programme will draw heavily
on a new version of Mr Ravalomanana's Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) to help
rebuild society and also rejuvenate the ailing tourism industry.
Madagascar has been in political turmoil since 2009, when Andry
Rajoelina ousted Marc Ravalomanana from power.
The coup left the country isolated by the international
community and deprived of foreign aid.
In January this year Mr Rajoelina and Mr Ravalomanana both
agreed not to stand in the polls, in line with a plan agreed with SADC.
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