Polling Begins in Madagascar's 45 Largest Cities
"Everything seems to be proceeding normally. We are not aware of any incidents so far," an Interior Ministry official told AFP.
However, an independent candidate in the western city of Mahajanga pulled out of the vote, crying foul.
Pierre Tsiranana said polling stations had failed to open two hours after the scheduled time in Mahajanga, the country's third largest city, and that the only ballots available were those of the TIM candidate.
"I fear riots, because people are not happy," he said.
Tsiranana backed Ravalomanana's rise in 2002, and was appointed to lead the party in his region, but was later dismissed. He was considered a serious challenger to the TIM candidate in Mahajanga, one of 45 cities holding mayoral elections in the impoverished Indian Ocean island state.
Nearly 1,000 municipal councilors are to be elected as well.
Elections two weeks ago in 1,500 rural communes returned 56 percent of the mayoral posts to TIM candidates, according to preliminary results.
The party is also expected to dominate Sunday's polls, especially in the capital Antananarivo, where the front-runner is Patrick Ramiaramanana, a close ally of Ravalomanana, the city's outgoing mayor.
Ramiaramanana is a former manager at Tiko, the dairy giant that the president headed before he rose to power in the former French colony.
This month's municipal polls are the first since a December 2001 presidential election prompted a marathon political duel between former longtime leader Didier Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana, with both men claiming to have won the vote. Ravalomanana finally took office in the middle of last year.
Legislative elections in December 2002 consolidated Ravalomanana's backing in parliament, where TIM won 134 of the 160 seats.
While tough contests are expected in the eastern city of Tamatave and south-central Fianarantsoa, TIM leader Solofonantenaina Razoarimihaja told AFP he was confident the ruling party would win 40 of the 45 mayoral posts.