Hery Rajaonarimampianina declared as the President of Madagascar

Hery Rajaonarimampianina, a former Finance Minister of Madagascar on 17 January 2014 was declared as the new President of the nation. His election as the President came as the result of the elections conducted on 20 December 2013 with an aim to restore democracy in the nation. Hery Rajaonarimampianina was officially declared as the president of the country by Francois Rakotozafy, the president of the electoral court. He was successful in garnering 53 percent of votes in the elections.

The announcement of the results was delayed due to a pending court ruling over the allegations of irregularities in voting. The allegation was made by his rival Robinson Jean Louis, who was the candidate of the ousted President Marc Ravalomanana. Louis has won 46.51 percent of the votes. About half of eight million eligible voters were successful in casting their votes.

Hery is backed by Andry Rajoelina, who staged a coup in 2009 against the then president Marc Ravalomanana. This coup attempt pushed Madagascar into a political and economic crisis.

The ousted President Ravalomanana has gone to South Africa into an exile. Madagascar was suspended by the African Union and Southern African Development Community. With thios election, might be possible that the country will be allowed back into the regional; bodied.

The World Bank in its report on Madagascar estimated that the political crisis of the country cost it around 8 billion dollar in lost growth. In 2012, the economy of the country grew just by 3.1 percent, which made it to lag behind most African nations.