SHADED from the blazing sun, Justin Mbehosoa Sambon enjoys a respite from hacking away at fragments of stone he sells to building contractors putting up houses in the nearby coastal town of Mahajanga. The builders’ lorries have come less and less often of late. “Time advances, but life moves backward,” he says. Like most of Madagascar’s poor, he and his four children eat sparingly. Asked if he expects the country’s recent presidential election to improve his lot, he musters a weak shake of the head and a bitter smile.Some Malagasy have let a bit more sunlight filter into their forecasts since the final round of a presidential election on December 20th, whose results are due to be announced on January 3rd. “I have hope, but not confidence,” offers a school administrator outside a polling station in the capital, Antananarivo. She says she cast her ballot for Hery Rajaonarimampianina, a former finance minister backed by the current president, Andry Rajoelina, who seized power from Marc Ravalomanana in a coup in 2009. From his exile in South Africa, Mr Ravalomanana backs the other run-off candidate, Jean Louis Robinson, a former health minister. Under international pressure, Messrs Rajoelina and Ravalomanana were barred from running again. But their proxies beat 31 other candidates in October to reach the December run-off.The lack of cheer among the Malagasy is understandable....
From The Economist: Middle East and Africa
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