Leaders from the southern African region have urged the international community to reject plans by Madagascar's military-backed Andry Rajoelina to ignore power-sharing talks and hold an election.

Madagascar’s government has said it will crack down on opposition leaders and their supporters, who reject plans for elections, if they provoke further civil unrest.

Madagascar's president, Andry Rajoelina, has called for parliamentary elections early next, saying it is the only way out of the political crisis that has gripped the Indian Ocean Island since January this year.

The African Union (AU) Wednesday expressed deep concerns over the lack of progress on key talks aimed at ending the political deadlock in Madagascar, following a coup in the Indian Ocean island in March 2009.

Madagascar’s opposition has accused the country’s leader Andry Rajoelina of stalling negotiations on forming a consensus government. One of the Indian Ocean island’s two co-presidents accused Rajoelina, who took power in a military-backed coup in March, of denting hopes of restoring constitutional order and winning back frozen donor funds.