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Madagascar's Rival Leaders Agree to Share Power


VOA News
18 Apr 2002 21:55 UTC
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The two men claiming the presidency of Madagascar have signed a power sharing agreement until the outcome of a recount of last December's disputed election.
 
 

<b>Didier Ratsiraka </b><br>VOA photo - C. McDonough
Didier Ratsiraka 
VOA photo - C. McDonough 
Madagascar President Didier Ratsiraka and opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana reached the agreement after hours of talks in Senegal Thursday.

 The agreement calls for setting up a transitional government of national reconciliation for six months. Under the deal, President Ratsiraka will remain president with Mr. Ravalomanana as his deputy.
 
 

<b>Marc Ravalomanana</b>
Marc Ravalomanana
According to the agreement, if neither man wins a majority in the recount, a referendum will be held within six months to select either Mr. Ratsiraka or Mr. Ravalomanana as the new leader of Madagascar. The vote will be overseen by representatives of the Organization of African Unity, the United Nations and the European Union.

 The recount was ordered Wednesday by Madagascar's Supreme Court, which annulled the results of the December poll.

 The accord follows vigorous diplomatic efforts by OAU Secretary-General Amara Essy, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and the presidents of Ivory Coast, Benin and Mozambique.

 Madagascar has been in turmoil since Mr. Ravalomanana, a popular mayor of Antananarivo, declared himself president on February 22. He refused a court-ordered runoff vote saying, Ratsiraka supporters rigged the first election which, he says, he had won outright.

 In the ensuing dispute, each man presided over rival governments in separate cities. Civilians and soldiers have taken sides, and at least 32 people have been killed in the violence, provoking fears of civil war in the Indian Ocean island nation. 

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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