Antananarivo | Tuesday
MADAGASCAR’S opposition leader and self-declared president Marc Ravalomanana on Tuesday appointed Jacques Sylla as prime minister of his future government.
He told journalists he had ordered Sylla, a former foreign minister, to ”form a government as quickly as possible.”
Ravalomanana’s move was a further challenge to President Didier Ratsiraka, who imposed a state of emergency in the Indian Ocean island state after the opposition leader swore himself in as head of state on Friday.
Ravalomanana, who claims to have won the first round of presidential polls on December 16, spent Monday consulting with his aides over forming a national unity government.
Meanwhile, a ruling party security guard killed two supporters of Ravalomanana in the eastern town Ambatondrazaka, a religious official said on Tuesday.
The security guard opened fire on Monday on a group of Ravalomanana’s supporters as the group was heading to the home of a ruling party member of parliament.
Two youth protesters died in the incident, the religious official said. The opposition supporters then burned down the parliamentarian’s house. – Sapa-AFP