'Child killed' in Madagascar protests

Mr Ravalomanana's supporters say he won outright

A child has reportedly been killed and others injured in clashes between police and thousands of supporters of Marc Ravalomanana in the capital, Antananarivo.

The child suffocated when police fired tear gas, according to a witness quoted by the French news agency, AFP.

Mr Ravalomanana is a political newcomer

Up to 80,000 had gathered for the second time in four days to demand that Mr Ravalomanana, the opposition candidate and mayor of the capital, be declared the winner of last month's presidential election.

The BBC's Voahangy Rakotoarivelo in Antananarivo says that the protesters vowed to continue their struggle until President Didier Ratsiraka is ousted from power.

AFP quotes security sources saying that 20 people were injured and one had to have their leg amputated.

Malpractice

Didier Rakotoarisoa, one of the protest organisers, confirmed that a child had been killed and said 17 civilians had been hurt, two of them seriously.

Most of those injured were reportedly queuing to collect their end-of-year bonuses outside a bank.

Admiral Ratsiraka has ruled for 23 years

Results from the Interior Ministry give Mr Ravalomanana 46% against 40% for Mr Ratsiraka.

If these are confirmed by the supreme court, a second round would decide the next president, but Mr Ravalomanana says he won 53% and so should be sworn in straight away.

Both sides have accused the other of malpractice during the election.

Economic miracle

In 1991, street protests forced Mr Ratsiraka to introduce multi-party elections and he lost the first contest in 1993, before being re-elected three years later.

After being driven from 13 May Square in the city centre by the security forces, protesters threw stones at the police and set a car on fire.

They then managed to return to the square where Mr Ravalomanana spoke.

"We will see this through and we will win," he said. "We have only one demand in the current conflict: that the truth of what was in the ballot boxes is respected."

Mr Ravalomanana is a self-made millionaire who started off selling yoghurts and now heads the country's biggest food company.

During the election, he promised to achieve a similar about-turn in the prospects of Madagascar.

He had no political experience before winning the Antananarivo mayoral elections in 1999.