No more doubt over who's in charge

There is no longer any doubt over who has control of Madagascar, an analyst told IRIN on Friday. The last ministry still in the hands of the official government was taken over by an appointee of self-declared president Marc Ravalomanana early in the day. Soldiers guarding the defence ministry building did nothing to prevent the new "minister" from entering his office, alongside Ravalomanana. "If anyone had any doubt about Ravolomanana's influence and popularity, the seizure of one the most crucial ministries is a clear message to President (Didier) Ratsiraka that he has lost control of the capital," Heidi Hudson, political science lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch, told IRIN. On Thursday, at least 100 army officers pledged their allegiance to Ravalomanana, who claims to have won last December's presidential election. Local newspapers have reported that two generals have sworn allegiance to Ravalomanana. The generals claim that almost 90 percent of the country's soldiers now support Ravolomanana. The army, until this week, remained neutral in the conflict. On Monday, however, they did nothing to prevent Ravolomanana's appointed "ministers" from taking control of government buildings. "Surprisingly, despite all that has happened, the streets are relatively peaceful. People are trying to get on with their lives and hoping that both Ravolomanana and Ratsiraka will compromise," one Antananarivo resident told IRIN. A delegation from the Organisation of African Unity is in Madagascar and is hoping to achieve a peaceful resolution to the two-month long dispute over the presidency. Only the heavily-guarded prime minister's office still remains under the control of Ratsiraka loyalists. While Ravalomanana claims to have won more than 50 percent of the vote on 16 December, official results showed that he and Ratsiraka each won just less than half, making them face each other in a run-off.