Madagascar's parliament opened Monday without lawmakers from ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana's party, who stayed away in protest after he was barred from returning to the country at the weekend.

Ravalomanana on Saturday boarded a commercial flight in Johannesburg heading to the island's capital Antananarivo, but the plane was turned away in mid-flight.

His top aide, Mamy Rakotoarivelo, is the head of the Transitional Congress created under a deal signed in November in a bid to steer the nation towards elections.

He skipped the opening session along with the 86 other lawmakers from Ravalomanana's party, according to an AFP correspondent at parliament.

He apparently flew to South Africa for crisis talks with regional mediators, according to several sources in Madagascar.

Neither the foreign ministry in Pretoria nor Ravalomanana's spokesman in South Africa could confirm the talks.

Andry Rajoelina, a disc jockey-turned-politician, seized power in March 2009 with the army's backing -- the latest in a series of takeovers that have plagued the vast island nation since independence from France in 1960.

Ravalomanana, a self-made millionaire businessman, has lived most of that time in South Africa, which has sought to mediate an end to the crisis.

The "roadmap" signed in November by the country's main political parties allows for the return of exiled leaders, including Ravalomanana.

But he faces legal woes after being sentenced to life in prison and hard labour for the death of 30 opposition protesters killed by his presidential guard in February 2009.

Thousands of people had filled the road leading to the airport on Saturday to greet Ravalomanana.

The head of security for the capital, General Richard Ravalomanana, said Monday that one person died from a blow to the head and five others suffered minor injuries during scuffles within the crowd.

He said security forces were not involved in the incident.