AlHijjah 20, 1434, Oct 25, 2013, SPA -- Residents of the island nation of Madagascar voted Friday in a presidential election they hope will mark the end of political turmoil brought about by a coup in 2009, AP reported. Polls opened at 6 a.m. (0300GMT) Friday to a low turnout with only 50 voters in line at a public junior school on the outskirts of Antananarivo, the capital. Government officials have declared Friday a holiday to allow voters to cast their ballots. But in a nation with high levels of poverty and a wage of a $1.10 a day, most people continued work instead of voting. Madagascar, off Africa's east coast on the Indian Ocean, plunged into turmoil after current President Andry Rajoelina, a former disc jockey and mayor of the capital Antananarivo, seized power from ousted President Marc Ravalomanana with the help of the military in 2009. Rajoelina told reporters after casting his vote in Antananarivo, that it was time Madagascar "returned to the constitutional order." With 33 candidates running in the election, it could prove difficult for a clear winner to emerge in the first round. If none of the candidates garners more than 50 percent of the votes, the two top candidates will compete in a runoff scheduled for Dec. 20.
