President's Party Wins Madagascar Polls - Ministry

Reuters 22.12.2002

By Honore Razafintsalama

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - The party of President Marc Ravalomanana, who took office in July after a power struggle with Madagascar's former ruler, has won an absolute majority in parliamentary elections, preliminary results showed on Sunday.

The TIM party of Ravalomanana won 95 out of the assembly's 160 seats, according to an Interior Ministry statement showing unofficial results from 156 seats tallied so far on the vast Indian Ocean island. The voting took place on December 15.

TIM's showing made up the bulk of the 118 seats the ministry said have been won so far by the coalition of which TIM is a part. The remaining 38 seats went to the AREMA party of former ruler Didier Ratsiraka, independents and minor parties.

It could take several more days to collect and count all the votes from remote areas so the constitutional court can issue an official final tally.

The elections were as a crucial popularity test for Ravalomanana, who had been under pressure from Western donors to legitimize his rule by proving he has majority support on the giant island off southeast Africa.

TIM, which stands for "Tiako I Madagasikara" or I Love Madagascar, is part of a coalition called Firaisankinampirenena ("National Unity") also made up of Ny Asa Vita No IfampiCzarana (AVI) or "You are judged on the work you do," and the Rally for the Social Democratic Party (RPSD).

In the capital Antananarivo, where former mayor Ravalomanana drew most of his support during his power struggle with Ratsiraka, all 12 seats went to TIM or a coalition ally.

Ravalomanana took office after a six-month struggle with Ratsiraka that erupted when both claimed to have won presidential elections held on December 16 last year.

The crisis devastated the economy of what was already one of the poorest countries in the world.

Ravalomanana, a 53-year-old business tycoon, took full control in July when Ratsiraka, a former Marxist admiral who ruled Madagascar for 23 years, fled for France.

Ratsiraka's AREMA, associated with widespread corruption in its decades in power, has been thrown into disarray since he left. Many AREMA members called for a boycott of the elections.

Western donors, who have promised the country more than $2.0 billion in aid, urged Ravalomanana to hold elections as quickly as possible to shore up his position so the aid could flow.

International observers were sent to monitor the voting. Last year's elections were marred by allegations of corruption and vote-rigging, but the polling ran smoothly, the observers said.