Madagascar's High Constitutional Court has ruled that challenger Marc Ravalomanana won the presidency in December's election. The court said Monday that its recount showed Ravalomanana's KMMR party gained 51.46% of total ballots cast against 35.9% for Ratsiraka's Arema party. Four other candidates shared the remainder of the votes.

The court said it had evidence that the Arema governor of Fianarantsoa province had ordered voter fraud. It said the KMMR had submitted its voter records for the court to compare with ballots cast, while Arema did not. The court also threw out votes from 36 voting stations, saying it found that the stations were fictitious.

Ratsiraka, who declared a new capital in the port city of Tamatave when his government was forced from office by Ravalomana supporters after the December vote, had already said he would not accept Monday's high court decision. Although he agreed to the recount during talks in Dakar, Senegal two weeks ago, he returned from France late last week in a defiant mood.

Well-armed militias loyal to Ratsirakaappear determined to maintain the blockades around the capital of Antananarivo, which have starved the city and much of the surrounding countryside of essential commodities and have largely idled the country's rapidly expanding economy. Ravalomanana supporters say they fear that the anti-recount demonstrations called by the Arema party will fuel increasing violence that could lead to civil war.