Madagascar Presidential Elections

Antananarivo, Madagascar, 2018

In November 2018, Madagascar held the first round of its presidential election, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s political cycle. Across Antananarivo and in more remote regions, voters gathered at polling stations in large numbers, navigating long distances, logistical limitations, and an electoral system shaped by both expectation and uncertainty.

This body of work documents the election not only as a political process, but as a lived experience unfolding across varied landscapes. From dense urban neighborhoods to rural villages, polling stations became temporary centers of civic engagement — spaces where procedure and daily life intersected.

The images follow the rhythm of election day: early morning queues, the quiet concentration of voters inside classrooms and improvised voting spaces, the handling of ballots, and the gradual shift toward counting. Campaign traces remained visible — colors, symbols, and gestures reflecting a competitive race between key figures, including Andry Rajoelina, Marc Ravalomanana, and Hery Rajaonarimampianina.

While largely peaceful, the process revealed structural challenges: limited infrastructure, uneven access, and the broader question of political trust. Participation carried both weight and ambiguity — an act of civic duty shaped by hope, skepticism, and habit.

Rather than focusing solely on outcome, this project observes the election as a moment of collective presence. It examines how democratic rituals take form within specific social and geographic realities, and how individuals engage with systems that remain, at times, distant from their everyday lives.

Through proximity and attention to detail, the photographs seek to capture not only the mechanics of voting, but the atmosphere surrounding it — a country in motion, negotiating its political future one ballot at a time.