* Military government willing to hold elections by end-2009 * Both sides need to negotiate a 'consensual solution' * AU says humanitarian situation worse since coup By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA, April 30 (Reuters) - Madagascar's military backed government is willing to hold elections by the end of the year, the African Union (AU) said on Thursday. The army-backed administration of President Andry Rajoelina came to power in February in what many foreign leaders denounced as a coup. They have called for quick elections to restore constitutional order. "Everybody is agreed," AU special envoy to Madagascar, Ablasse Ouedraogo, told reporters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. "(They should) organise elections by the end of the year," he said. Rajoelina had said elections would be held in October 2010. The AU envoy was speaking after the first meeting of an international contact group formed by the 53-member body to ensure the international community takes a common position in pushing for a return to constitutional order in the huge Indian Ocean island. Madagascar was not represented at the Addis Ababa meeting but Rajoelina's foreign minister Ny Hasnia Andriamanjato and representatives of ousted President Marc Ravalomanana had been in Addis and had met members of the contact group. AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said Ravalomanana should be involved in talks with the Rajoelina government to work out an agreement about who should run the country. He added that the humanitarian situation in the desperately poor nation had worsened since the new government came to power. Ravalomanana fled to Swaziland. But he has since denied resigning saying he is president in exile, adding to the confusion over the leadership of the world's fourth biggest island. Lamamra said that all members of the contact group, which includes representatives from the United Nations, the AU and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council had agreed that the army-backed change of government in Madagascar was unconstitutional. "What we are seeking to achieve is a consensual solution which would respect the constitution of the country and would have constructive contributions from all stakeholders, including President Marc Ravalomanana," said Lamamra. Despite widespread international condemnation, few donor countries have suspended development aid to the island, where many eke out a living on less than $2 a day. Madagascar has been suspended from the AU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). (Editing by Wangui Kanina and Louise Ireland)
Almaz Gebreegziabher, mother to the leader of Ethiopia's Unity for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ), Birtukan Mideksa participates in a demonstration in the capital Addis Ababa, April 16, 2009. Ethiopians marched ...
