Incumbent president Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar is poised for a new term in office.

The results declared by the electoral commission on Saturday indicate Rajoelina won the first round of the presidential race with 58.9% of the votes.

Speaking in the capital city, Antananarivo, Rajoelina welcomed the people’s choice, promising to continue working to implement all the development plans he had already started for Madagascar.

In the last presidential vote in 2018, a second round was necessary for Rajoelina to win the presidency. At the time, he secured 2.5 million votes.

However, in the 2023 ballot, ten of the 12 rivals of Rajoelina refused to campaign and called for a boycott.

Their collective said on Friday that it would not recognize the results of the contested November 16 vote.

The country and the candidates now await the Constitutional Court’s validation of the results.