Exiled former Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana could be pardoned, the island nation's Prime Minister has said.
But this if a general amnesty law currently before the country's transitional parliament is passed. Voting on the bill is expected to take place before February 29.
The pardon would allow the former president, who resides in South Africa, to return home as part of a road map that prescribes elections this year. Madagascar has been gripped by a political stalemate since 2009 when Ravalomanana was ousted by a coup d'état.
Mr Ravalomanana was sentenced to life in prison and hard labour for the death of 30 opposition protesters allegedly killed by his presidential guard in 2009 during the street protests that led to his ouster.
Prime minister Jean-Omer Berizky, who ascended to the post after endorsement by all opposing parties in the country's fractured political climate, said the success of the road map signed last September in Antananarivo depended on an agreed pardon.
"The signing was done, there was collective agreement. Each signatory must respect his engagement," said Mr Berizky after attending talks in Pretoria. The talks were initiated by President Jacob Zuma to moot Ravalomanana's amnesty in the wake of abortive attempts by Ravalomanana to return to Madagascar.
Mr Ravalomanana's return has been a major obstacle in attempts by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to mediate the crisis.
His plane was blocked from landing in Madagascar and turned mid-air allegedly on orders from interim President Andriy Rajoelina who took over after the coup. A previous attempt to return was also blocked after South African airline officials denied him a boarding pass on orders from the Madagascar civil aviation authority.
Mr Rajoelina says his return would lead to a return of violence and was a national security concern. But the 15-member SADC bloc supports his unconditional return.
Observers to the simmering rivalry between Mr Rajoelina and Mr Ravalomanana say that national reconciliation is a pre-requisite if sustainable peace is to be attained.
