By Alain Iloniaina
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's government rejected an attempt by ousted President Marc Ravalomanana to nominate a new prime minister on Friday and said it still had an arrest warrant out for the former leader.
Ravalomanana relinquished office last month after a weeks-long power struggle on the Indian Ocean island culminated with dissident troops backing his rival Andry Rajoelina, who has rejected any power-sharing deal.
Roindefo Monja, prime minister in Rajeolina's interim government, accused Ravalomanana of still flouting the nation's constitution after years of abusing state powers.
"Ravalomanana has been doing whatever he likes for a long time. He respects nothing, including the constitution," Monja told Reuters by telephone.
Ravalomanana, 59, has been on the road lobbying African leaders and foreign diplomats since he stepped aside under intense pressure from the opposition. In Antananarivo, his supporters hold near-daily protests in their thousands.
On Thursday, Ravalomanana told a 15,000-strong rally by telephone from Swaziland that Madagascar's allies overseas backed his choice for prime minister, Manandafy Rakotonirina.
"(Rokotonirina) is the prime minister accepted by all states," Ravalomanana told the crowd. "He will be in close contact with me regarding the formation of a government open to all parties."
Ravalomanana told Reuters earlier this week he would return to Madagascar with the help of the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), and said that he was open to a power-sharing deal.
POLITICAL TENSIONS
His latest move risks stoking political tensions and reigniting the violence which preceded Rajoelina's rise to power. At least 135 people were killed in the unrest, which unnerved foreign investors and scared off tourists.
The international community has widely condemned the army-backed handover of power. The AU, European Union and France -- Madagascar's former colonial ruler -- all called it a coup d'etat.
The AU has suspended Madagascar, but few donor countries have actually cut off aid.
Rokotonirina says he is now the man giving orders to government -- an echo of Rajoelina's words when he proclaimed himself in charge of the country's affairs in February.
Rajoelina, a 34-year-old former DJ with little political experience beyond nearly two years as mayor of Antananarivo, dissolved Madagascar's two legislative chambers last month.
A spokesman for Ravalomanana's political party dispelled rumours in the capital that the former president would return to the world's fourth-largest island this weekend.
"President Ravalomanana will not return tomorrow. We need to look at his safety," Raharinaivo Andrianantoandro told Reuters.
Arrest warrants for Ravalomanana and his former finance minister remain in place, Rajoelina's government says.
Rajoelina, Africa's newest and youngest president, has pledged to hold an election in October 2010.
Multinational companies like Sheritt International and Rio Tinto investing in Madagascar's oil and mineral sectors are waiting to hear whether Rajoelina will revise their contracts.
(Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Ralph Gowling)
