Madagascar talks resume

The talks will need to appease the crowds

By Alistair Leithead in Antananarivo

Representatives of Madagascar's President Didier Ratsiraka and his main election rival Marc Ravalomanana were due to meet again on Friday.

A blockade of the capital is causing shortages

The talks were set to resume after what reports called a difficult first round of discussions to try to resolve a political crisis rooted in allegations of vote-rigging.

Delegates from both sides headed for the negotiations in a hotel in Antananarivo as a general strike entered its 19th day.

The key sticking-points centre on opposition allegations of fraud in December's first round of elections.

Also under discussion is how to postpone the second round, so international monitors can be brought in to ensure greater transparency.

Compromise needed

The negotiators now have to find a way of taking the situation forward, almost certainly to a second ballot, without making it look as if either man has backed down or given ground.

Since the dispute began, Mr Ravalomanana has insisted he will not go to a second ballot until a comparison of the official results and the polling-station returns has been completed.

Ravalomanana insists he won December's polls

President Ratsiraka's view is the constitution must be followed and the second round must go ahead as planned next week.

This means the talks need to yield enough of a confrontation to satisfy the vast crowds of opposition protestors, as well as a legal way of postponing the second ballot.

The protests in Antananarivo continue and a blockade of the main road to the port is still isolating the city from fuel supplies as stocks dwindle.

While at least the two sides are now talking, the negotiators have a tough few days ahead of them if they are going to resolve this crisis and get the Malagasy economy back on track.