Electorates on Wednesday went to the polls in Madagascar’s second round presidential election to select a new president from two competing former presidents.

More than 9 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots at 24,852 polling stations across the Indian Ocean island country from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time.

The second round of election was a contest between former transitional president Andry Rajoelina and former president Marc Ravalomanana.

Madagascar kicked off its presidential election on November 7 with 36 candidates running for the presidency.

Since no candidate won 50 percent of the votes in the first round, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared a runoff between the top two candidates with the highest support.

According to the INEC, the result will be released on December 31.