April 22 (Reuters) -

Canada's Gildan Activewear on Monday recommended the election of two nominees of U.S.-based activist fund Browning West to the company's board, ahead of its annual and special shareholder meeting on May 28.

The clothing maker's board has been clashing with Browning West, which owns 5% of Gildan, following the ouster of co-founder and CEO Glenn Chamandy in December.

In January, Browning West escalated its fight with Gildan, expanding its slate to eight candidates from five and called an annual and special shareholder meeting to replace a majority of its board members and reinstate Chamandy as CEO.

On Monday, the board recommended the election of Browning nominees Karen Stuckey and J.P. Towner. It also appointed five new independent directors to its board effective May 1.

"While we are gratified that every single incumbent director responsible for the board's many failures is stepping aside, we are disappointed that it is due in part to the board's relentless focus on protecting (incumbent CEO) Vince Tyra to avoid accountability," Browning West said in a statement.

"It is clear that the newly announced directors are objectively less qualified than Browning West's director candidates," it added.

In March, Gildan had said its board decided to put the company up for sale and is in talks with multiple bidders.

The company added on Monday that external interest in an acquisition persists and the process is ongoing. (Reporting by Annett Mary Manoj and Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shailesh Kuber)