No end to dispute in Madagascar

There have been huge protests since the polls

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have again been on the streets of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, to protest against the alleged rigging of presidential elections in December.

It is the fifth successive day of protests.

The country's main opposition leader, Marc Ravalomanana - who insists he was cheated out of victory - told the crowds that the general strike, which has been going on all week, would continue, and that protests would be stepped up.

Mr Ravalomanana did, however, call on workers at the city's airport to call off their strike immediately and allow foreign journalists into the country.

Mr Ravalomanana believes the count was fiddled

At the same time, the speaker of the Senate, Honore Rakotomanana, told the BBC that he is not hostile to the idea of the involvement of the international community in a second round of the presidential election.

Mr Ravalomanana has rejected any second round - he insists that he won the first round with an absolute majority.

But he said he would call an end to a general strike if foreign monitors were allowed to verify the results of last month's elections.

Industrialists have warned that the strike could seriously damage the country's export-dependent economy if it continues for much longer.

Strike impact

The political standoff is beginning to have a serious impact on the economic life of the island.

Government offices, public utilities, most banks and the international airport have been brought to a virtual standstill since Monday.

President Ratsiraka is keeping a low profile

Thursday was payday in Madagascar, and long queues formed outside the few banks that were still open, but cash stocks ran out quickly.

The main business association has called for an end to the deadlock, warning of difficulties in paying employees.

Businessmen have said that the 100 or so companies which manufacture textiles and other items for overseas markets are particularly vulnerable.

Bruno de Foucault, a top manager of an employers' organisation, told the AFP news agency the strike was costing these companies more than $850,000 a day.

Strike action by ground crews at the airport has also hit the island's tourism industry hard.

About 1,000 tourists have been stranded and unable to leave since the strike began.