Madagascar's High Constitutional Court has certified the results of last month's presidential election and ordered a runoff ballot because, it says, no candidate won an absolute majority.

Reports from the Indian Ocean island state say a second round of voting could take place within 30 days, pitting President Didier Ratsiraka against his main challenger, Marc Ravalomanana, a prominent businessman who is mayor of the capital city, Antananarivo.

The High Constitutional Court said Friday that President Ratsiraka won about 41 percent of the vote on December 16, compared to 46 percent for Mr. Ravalomanana. Mr. Ravalomanana's backers have been saying the vote was tampered with and their candidate had won outright.

The court's decision confirms an earlier provisional announcement of the voting results. Three other candidates shared the remainder of the votes.

Mr. Ravalomanana says he rejects the court's order, but he asked his supporters to remain calm and protest peacefully until he announces his next move at a demonstration on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating in Antananarivo for weeks, demanding that Mr. Ravalomanana be recognized as the outright winner of the presidential ballot.

President Bush, who called for a fair resolution of the dispute last week, says the United States is a friend of the people of Madagascar and hopes for a speedy resolution of the situation. Mr. Ratsiraka is Madagascar's former military ruler. He was in power for 17 years before his election to the presidency in 1996.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.

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