Madagascar deal under threat

BBC News 28.04.2002

By Alastair Leithead
BBC correspondent in Tamatave, Madagascar

Incumbent Madagascan President Didier Ratsiraka has said he will not accept the results of an election recount due on Monday - deepening the country's political crisis.

He is now demanding that a referendum be held to resolve the dispute.

President Ratsiraka signed an agreement 10 days ago in Senegal designed to end the feud with his rival Marc Ravalomanana which is destroying the country's economy.

But he has now accused Mr Ravalomanana of not honouring the Dakar agreement.

He had been in France since signing the deal, but returned in defiant mood, addressing a crowd of about 400 people in his heartland of Tamatave.

President Ratsiraka said the constitutional court, which is carrying out the recount, was illegal and that their decision would mean nothing.

Blockade

If the recount gives Mr Ravalomanana more than 50% of the vote, he will be declared president.

President Ratsiraka said he still believed in the Dakar accord, but distanced himself from the blockade which is starving the capital Antananarivo of fuel and vital supplies.

He said Mr Ravalomanana's government must resign in order for the accord to progress.

The blockade on the road linking Antananarivo and the port of Tamatave is the main cause of the economic collapse.

But President Ratsiraka said the real blockade in Madagascar was a government illegally appointed by Mr Ravalomanana and the central bank, which has two governors - one appointed by each side in this four-month crisis.

OAU mission

"I am the only president. The illegal government of Ravalomanana must give up ... the so-called prime minister must give up," he said.

It appears President Ratsiraka is now picking holes in the Dakar agreement, a piece of paper which did not include details of how the promises made by either side would be implemented.

A delegation from the Organisation of African Unity is due in Madagascar this week.

But with the recount of the December election due on Monday, the declaration that the provinces will proclaim their independence if Mr Ravalomanana wins and the stance that the incumbent president is taking, they will face quite a challenge if they are going to resolve this crisis.