Madagascar governors threaten to split the island

Reuters 27.04.2002

ANTANANARIVO — Governors loyal to embattled Madagascan President Didier Ratsiraka said on Saturday they would set up an independent state if a recount of disputed December polls declared rival Marc Ravalomanana the winner.

The island off southeast Africa has been in political crisis since the elections, which Ravalomanana, the popular mayor of the capital, says he won.

Ratsiraka denies Ravalomanana's accusations that the vote was rigged against him, and says neither man won.

The two men, who both now claim to be president, agreed in Dakar earlier this month to allow a recount of the polls to determine the victor. If neither was shown to have a majority, a referendum would be held to let the people decide.

The High Constitutional Court (HCC), based in Ravalomanana's stronghold Antananarivo, began re-analysing the votes last week and says it will announce the results on Monday.

But five of Madagascar's six provincial governors -- who remain officially in charge of all provinces except Antananarivo -- said the court was biased in Ravalomanana's favour. If he was declared victor on Monday, they said, they would set up a confederation of five independent states.

''This is a last warning to Marc Ravalomanana's camp and the HCC before the five autonomous provinces of Toamasina, Toliara, Antsiranana, Mahajanga and Fianarantsoa put in place a constituent assembly which will act as a base for a confederation of five independent states,'' a spokesman for the regional council of Toamasina, Ratsiraka's stronghold, told local television.

''Our fear is not only based on the fact that you would have needed much more time to re-examine the votes of so many polling stations, but also on the fact that four of the magistrates belonging to the HCC were part of the board of magistrates in front of which Marc Ravalomanana swore himself in as president on February 22,'' he said.

Ratsiraka's government says there are more than 15,000 polling stations on the vast island.

There was no immediate comment from Ravalomanana's side.

Ravalomanana, a self-made millionaire, has a firm hold on Antananarivo province, where the capital is situated. He has installed a rival cabinet in government ministries, and a large part of the army supports him.

It is not clear how much support he has outside of the province. He has appointed his own set of regional governors, but they have not yet been able to take their positions due to resistance from Ratsiraka supporters.

Ratsiraka, who has ruled the island for more than 20 years, has not returned home since the Dakar meeting but is expected back on Sunday.