Madagascar opposition candidate challenges Ravalomanana re-election

ANTANANARIVO (AFP) - The third-place finisher in Madagascar's presidential elections last week has filed suit challenging the victory of incumbent Marc Ravalomanana and demanding a second-round run-off.

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Roland Ratsiraka, nephew of the Indian Ocean island's former leader whom Ravalomanana ousted five years ago, said Monday official results giving the president more than 50 percent of the vote in the December 3 polls were fraudulent.

The challenge, filed with Madagascar's High Constitutional Court, raises the specter of a repeat of the crisis that engulfed the country after the 2001 polls when Ratsiraka's uncle refused to accept defeat to Ravalomanana.

According to the younger Ratsiraka's camp, this year's election was marred by an influx of unknown voters and official results giving Ravalomanana 54.8 percent of the votes could not be believed.

They said their own figures showed Ravalomanana with only 47.5 percent of the vote and Ratsiraka coming in second with 12 percent, a tally that would force a run off between the two men.

"Our request relates to the real number of registered voters," Ratsiraka told reporters after filing his complaint against the interior ministry, which ran the election.

"It should have been announced four days before the poll and while the ministry had spoken of about 6,950,000 voters, it ended up that there were more than 7,350,000," he said.

He also noted that compared with the last election, voter participation in the capital, a Ravalomanana stronghold, had gone up by 20 percent and that in opposition dominated coastal areas it was down 30 percent.

According to the official results, which must still be confirmed by the constitutional court, Ratsiraka came in third with 10.1 percent of the vote, just behind former parliament speaker Jean Lahiniriko with 11.68 percent.

The court confirmed receiving Ratsiraka's challenge, as well as one from another of the 13 Ravalomanana challengers, Norbert Ratsirahonana, who won 4.2 percent of the vote, while Lahiniriko's camp said they were also preparing one.

Ratsiraka said the complaint also sought a review of the official tabulation sheets and stressed he was not concerned about the prospect for a repeat of the debacle in 2001-2002 that left the country paralyzed and split into two.

Then, both Didier Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana claimed to have won and the island was split, with rival governments. Clashes between supporters of the two sides claimed dozens of lives and roused fears of military intervention and civil war. Ratsiraka finally left in July 2002.

"I am not afraid for people to know the truth," Roland Ratsiraka said, adding that he would be forced to take unspecified action if the court confirmed Ravalomanana's first round victory.

Ratsiraka has alleged numerous irregularities in the polls and dismissed largely positive reports about the the election from international observers who he accused of seeking to validate a second term for Ravalomanana.

The court has 20 days to confirm the provisional results.

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