AU won't recognize Madagascar poll win by Rajoelina

NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) - The African Union said Friday it will not recognise the victory of strongman Andry Rajoelina, if he wins Madagascar's forthcoming presidential elections.

Rajoelina, currently the country's interim leader, had committed not to run in the elections scheduled for July but has reneged on his promise and announced his candidacy.

The island nation has been in political limbo ever since the 38-year-old former disc jockey ousted Marc Ravalomanana in a 2009 coup.

The arch-rivals had both vowed not to take part in the vote -- in a bid to break the impasse -- however Rajoelina did an about-turn after Ravalomanana's wife threw her hat into the ring.

"The perpetrators of an unconstitutional change of government cannot participate in elections organised to restore constitutional order, the AU said in a statement Friday that followed a meeting of its peace and security council.

"The AU will not recognise the Malagasy authorities which would be elected in violation of the relevant AU and Southern African Development Community (SADC) decisions," it went on.

SADC is the mediator in the Madagascar crisis.

The AU slammed as "illegitimate" the candidatures of Rajoelina as well as that of Marc Ravalomanana's wife Lalao Ravalomanana and that of Didier Ratsiraka, who was president of the Indian Ocean island from 1975 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2002.

The statement added that the decision of the Special Electoral Court (CES) to validate the three candidatures "violates the national law of Madagascar."

Rajoelina's submitted his candidacy after the deadline and neither Lalao Ravalomanana nor Ratsiraka have been resident in Madagascar for the past six months, as required by the electoral law.

On May 10 the SADC's security troika, asked the three -- among a total of 49 candidates -- to withdraw from the race.

The first round of the presidential poll is scheduled for July 24.

The AU said it "regrets that Andry Rajoelina breached his solemn commitment not to stand for the presidential elections after a similar commitment made by the former President Marc Ravolomanana," who has been in exile in South Africa since he was overthrown.