Antananarivo, Nov 17 (AP) Madagascar's incumbent President Andry Rajoelina held a commanding lead on Friday as votes were counted in an election boycotted by the majority of candidates and marked by low turnout.

Preliminary results released by the island nation's elections management body, Ceni, showed the 49-year-old former DJ with 71.26 per cent of the votes cast on Thursday.

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That compared with his nearest rival Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko's 10.67 per cent. Former president Marc Ravalomanana was third with just under 10.08 per cent of the vote.

Ravalomanana is one of 10 candidates who boycotted the election, alleging that conditions for a legitimate and fair vote hadn't been met, but their names remained on the ballot.

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Although less than 9 per cent of polling stations had been counted by Friday midday, some pro-government media outlets in the country have already headlined an overwhelming victory for Rajoelina.

“It's done,” screamed a headline in the Madagascar Express.

“Very likely victory in the first round,” stated La Vérité, a French language pro-government newspaper.

A low voter turnout marked the election, as many people appeared to heed a collective call by the 10 candidates to stay away from voting booths. Civil society organisations and a group of the country's main churches had also called for a postponement of the election.

Just under 40 per cent of Madagascar's 11 million voters cast their ballots, according to preliminary figures given by the elections management body.

The elections body is expected to proclaim the “provisional consolidated results” for the entire country between November 24 and November 25.

It will then be up to the country's High Constitutional Court to proclaim the official results of the election at the beginning of December. A runoff has been scheduled for December 20 if none of the candidates get more than 50 per cent.

But the opposition has already said it doesn't recognise the election.

“The majority of Malagasy people expressed themselves through the fact that they stayed at home,” said Hery Rajaonarimampianina, a former president speaking on behalf of the 10 candidates who boycotted the election.

Most of Madagascar's 30 million people live in poverty in a country whose economy is anchored in agriculture and tourism but is largely dependent on foreign aid. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)