Madagascar army colonel says military has taken power
Madagascar’s military has assumed responsibility for the Indian Ocean island after President Andry Rajoelina fled abroad amid tensions with youth-led protesters and security forces, a colonel said.
“We took power,” Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who led a rebellion by soldiers who joined anti-government Generation Z demonstrators, said on state radio.
Randrianirina added that the military dissolved all institutions except the lower house of parliament, or the National Assembly, which voted to impeach Rajoelina a few minutes ago.
On a day of turmoil in the country off the coast of East Africa, the 51-year-old leader tried to dissolve the parliament by decree.
Despite flying on a French military jet, Rajoelina refuses to resign despite weeks of Gen Z protests demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the military.
The Presidency did not immediately react to Randrianirina’s comments but had previously said the parliamentary meeting was unconstitutional and therefore any decision was “null and void”.
Rajoelina said he was moved to a safe place due to threats to his life.
An opposition official, a military source and a foreign diplomat told Reuters he fled the country on a French military plane on Sunday.
Demonstrations that broke out in the country on September 25 over water and power outages quickly turned into an uprising over broader grievances such as corruption, mismanagement and lack of basic services.
The anger mirrored recent protests against ruling elites elsewhere, including Nepal and Morocco.
On Tuesday, in Antananarivo’s May 13 Square, along a main road lined with palm trees and French colonial buildings, thousands of protesters danced, marched, sang and waved banners accusing Rajoelina of being a French stooge because of his dual citizenship and the support he received from Madagascar’s former colonizer.
Many were waving Madagascar flags and protest banners featuring Generation Z’s signature skull and crossbones from the Japanese One Piece anime series.
At one point, Randrianirina came on stage and asked, “Are you ready to accept military rule?” he asked, and was applauded by the crowd.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously said that the constitutional order must be preserved and that although France understands the difficulties of youth, they should not be exploited by military groups.
Rajoelina appeared isolated after losing the support of CAPSAT, an elite unit that helped him seize power in the 2009 coup.
Randrianirina is a well-known commander in CAPSAT.
The unit joined protesters over the weekend, saying it would refuse to open fire on them, and escorted thousands of demonstrators through the main square of the capital Antananarivo.
Paramilitary gendarmerie and police also broke ranks with Rajoelina.
Madagascar, where the average age is under 20, has a population of approximately 30 million, three-quarters of whom live in poverty.
According to the World Bank, per capita GDP fell by 45 percent from the time of independence in 1960 to 2020.
