voted for the impeachment motion, well short of the required 92. On 15 March 1998, a constitutional referendum was held and approved by a narrow majority of voters; this resulted in a major increase in the president's powers, enabling him to dissolve the National Assembly and appoint the prime minister and government without the National Assembly's agreement. It also provided for decentralization, with the provinces gaining autonomy. 2001 elections Ratsiraka announced on 26 June 2001 that he would be a candidate for the presidential election to be held in December of that year. In the election, he took second place; according to the government, Marc Ravalomanana won first place with 46% of the vote, while Ratsiraka took 40%. Because, according to the official results, no candidate won a majority, a runoff was to take place, but due to disputes over the election it was never held. Ravalomanana claimed to have won over 50 percent of the vote, enough to win the presidency in a single round. Ravalomanana was sworn in as President by his supporters on 22 February 2002, and the two governments fought for control of the country. By the end of February 2002, Ravalomanana had control over the capital, which had always been his base, but Ratsiraka largely maintained control over the provinces and established himself at Toamasina, his primary support base. However, within a few months Ravalomanana had gained the upper hand in a struggle. In mid-June Ratsiraka went to France, leading many to believe he had fled into exile and lowering the morale of his supporters, although Ratsiraka said he would return. He did return to Madagascar after more than a week, but his position was continuing to weaken militarily. On 5 July, Ratsiraka fled Toamasina, taking a flight to the nearby Seychelles. Two days later he arrived in France. In exile On 6 August 2003, Ratsiraka—who was accused of stealing nearly eight million dollars in public funds from the annex of the central bank in Toamasina in June 2002, just before going into exile—was sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Madagascar. Because he was living in France, he was tried in absentia. The lawyer appointed for Ratsiraka by the court accepted the verdict and sentence as "fair" and said he would not appeal. On 4 August 2009, Ratsiraka met with President of the High Authority of Transition of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina, as well