Two ex-presidents compete in Madagascar run-off elections

An ex-president of Madagascar and the man who removed him in a 2009 coup compete to become the island state's next leader in a run-off election on Wednesday.

Voters have begun casting their ballots across the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar.

Madagascar is hoping for a second peaceful election since upheaval in 2009 when Ravalomanana was forced out of office by protests led by Rajoelina in what the African Union and other international organizations said was a coup.

Andry Rajoelina, 44, president from 2009 to 2014, received 39 percent of the vote in the first round in November, while Marc Ravalomanana, 69, president from 2002 to 2009, got 35 percent.

They face off for the first time since political turmoil in 2009.

Voting began early on Wednesday. Provisional results were expected before the end of the year.

Rajoelina cast his ballot in the capital, Antananarivo, and said he would accept the result.

“I appeal to all the Malagasy people to vote massively to express their choice so that they can choose who will lead this country,” he said. “I am a democrat and I will accept the verdict of the ballot box,” he said.

"Even if it is a rainy season, the sun is shining today. I hope the sun shall shine on Madagascar," Rajoelina said after voting.

Ten million voters are registered in Madagascar, a former French colony which is ranked by the World Bank as one of the world’s poorest nations, although rich in ecological diversity. More than two-thirds of the island’s population of 25 million live in extreme poverty, while corruption is reportedly widespread.

Soldiers were deployed across the island to ensure security during the polls, said the minister of defence.

"Nearly 20,000 elements of the defence and security forces are deployed throughout the country, 900 in the capital to ensure the security of the election," said the minister, General. Beni Xavier Rasolofonirina.

"I call on the Malagasy to defend their choice, not to let the two candidates and their supporters do the job, come and vote and then assist and monitor the counting of votes."

The former president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, had been hoping for a second term in the November vote but came a distant third and was eliminated.

Provisional results are expected within a week.