The head of Madagascar's lower house of parliament on Thursday called for the suspension of next week's presidential elections, after weeks of regular opposition rallies. Christine Razanamahasoa, who leads a mediation group to find a way out of a political crisis that has raged for weeks, says the current situation in the country did not allow for a free and credible vote to be held on November 16. The mediation group "strongly demands that authorities suspend the presidential election scheduled for November 16," Razanamahasoa tells a press conference in Antananarivo. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES