Gaddafi 'supports' Rajoelina
2009-05-19 22:23
Antananarivo - Madagascar's new president
said on Tuesday he had won the backing of the African Union's
Chairman, Muammar Gaddafi, and would now rewrite the
constitution and hold presidential elections.
Andry Rajoelina, who returned in a bullish mood from a
three-day visit to Libya, has fought to gain international
recognition after regional blocs and foreign leaders branded his
March seizure of power a coup.
"As far as the African Union chair is concerned, it is
clear there is nothing more to discuss on the legitimacy of my
power as leader of Madagascar," he told reporters on his return
to Antananarivo.
The African Union and Southern African Development Community
suspended Madagascar soon after Rajoelina ousted former leader
Marc Ravalomanana with the help of dissident soldiers.
Several donors including the International Monetary Fund,
the United States and Norway have frozen non-emergency aid.
Mixed signals
"[Gaddafi] is asking himself why some states continue to
unsettle Madagascar when the documents proving my leadership as
fact are clear," he said.
It was unclear from Rajoelina's remarks whether Gaddafi, who
seized power in Libya in a bloodless military coup in 1969, had
agreed to recognise his presidency formally.
Ravalomanana, who has been in exile in southern Africa since
he stepped down, insists he remains the country's legitimate
leader and says he will return to Madagascar within weeks.
The island's new government said an arrest warrant for
Ravalomanana remains in place.
The international community wants elections this year but
Rajoelina has given mixed signals over their timing and whether
he will stand as candidate. At 34, Rajoelina is too young to
stand according to Madagascar's existing constitution.
Last week, foreign diplomats said Rajoelina had assured them
he would not run. His office denied the claim.
A day later Rajoelina announced he was seeking a pact with
the country's leading political groups to bar former heads of
state, including himself, from contesting the poll.
"Should they reject his 'offer' and decide to contest the
presidency, he (Rajoelina) would have no choice but to stand -
but he could claim to do so reluctantly," said Edward George of
the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Rajoelina said he expected Gaddafi to make a formal
announcement clarifying his stance soon.