Madagascan opposition fails to take over presidency

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-15 09:51

ANTANANARIVO - Madagascan opposition leader Andry Rajoelina failed to take over the presidency after 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Saturday as he threatened to do so earlier on the day.

Madagascar's opposition leader Andry Rajoelina (2nd R) addresses his supporters during a rally in Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, on Mar. 14, 2009. Rajoelina told thousands of his supporters on Saturday that he was giving President Marc Ravalomanana four hours to resign. [Xinhua]

Addressing a mass gathering after lunch time, Rajoelina gave a four-hour ultimatum to resign peacefully after which he would go to the presidential palace to take over the presidency.

He would go to the presidential palace not for negotiation but to say goodbye to President Marc Ravalomanana, said the sacked Antananarivo mayor.

Guarding by armed soldiers, Rajoelina told tens of thousands of his supporters that he would first send a delegation to the presidential palace before he was going to take over.

"The light is almost arrived in our country, and the darkness prepares to leave us," Rajoelina told the gathering, attended also by senior government officials including President of the National Assembly Jacques Sylla.

This is the first time for Rajoelina to show himself in public since March 4, when President Ravalomanana ordered the police and the armed forces to go to street to restore peace and order in the capital city.

The opposition leader has lived in French embassy for some days and then shifted to another secured place to avoid any attempt to kill him.

However, on Friday, Ravalomanana also attacked a group of persons who had gone "beyond the legal framework and seek to deprive him of his life".

Meeting four leaders of the influential Christian Council of Churches of the Indian Ocean island country, Ravalomanana said that "the international community does not condone the coup" in his country.

On the claim of Ravalomanana, Rajoelina told his supporters that he would ensure the security of the president.

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