Madagascar president takes huge lead in early results of low turnout vote

Madagascar's President and a presidential candidate Andry Rajoelina flanked by his wife Mialy Rajoelina as he arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station, during the presidential election in Ambatobe, Antananarivo, Madagascar November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Zo Andrianjafy

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina took a predictably commanding early lead on Friday in his bid for re-election in a vote marked by low turnout and an opposition boycott, preliminary results showed.

The 49-year-old entrepreneur and former DJ rose to power on the Indian Ocean island in a 2009 coup, stepped down after almost five years as leader of a transitional authority, then won a 2018 election.