Madagascar’s armed forces have announced that they are taking control of the Indian Ocean nation following weeks of youth-led protests and growing unrest within the military.
The declaration came shortly after parliament voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina, who fled the country amid a rebellion by police and soldiers.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina of an elite military unit told reporters that the armed forces would establish a council made up of officers from the army and the gendarmerie. “A prime minister would be appointed to ‘quickly’ form a civilian government,” he said.
The move appears to mark the end of Mr. Rajoelina’s seven-year rule.
Earlier, the embattled president had dissolved the lower house of parliament in a last-ditch effort to halt impeachment proceedings.
The decree, issued on Tuesday and posted on the presidency’s Facebook page, deepened the political turmoil as the president went into hiding.
The 51-year-old leader admitted in a social media broadcast on Monday night that he had left Madagascar for a “safe place” due to threats to his life, though he did not disclose his location.
The military’s defection was the turning point in a crisis that began with demonstrations over power and water shortages but evolved into a larger movement driven by frustration over poverty, corruption, and governance.
“We do not get a constant supply of electricity and water from the government,” protester Soavololona Faraniaina lamented. “If Madagascan children are studying in darkness where will the future of this nation be? Where is the wealthy Madagascar that many countries envied?”
Thousands of protesters, mostly young people, have taken to the streets in Antananarivo since September 25, inspired by similar youth-led uprisings in Kenya and Nepal.
Their calls for Mr. Rajoelina’s resignation have grown louder as the crisis unfolds.
A key moment came when soldiers from the elite CAPSAT unit switched sides and joined the demonstrators.
CAPSAT, the same military faction that helped topple the government in 2009 and brought Rajoelina to power, declared it now controls all branches of the armed forces and has appointed new military and gendarmerie chiefs.
Although CAPSAT denied carrying out a coup, saying “Madagascar’s people should decide what happens next,” the unit’s actions have effectively placed it in charge of state affairs.
Despite the upheaval, there has been little violence. Soldiers have been seen patrolling in armored vehicles and receiving cheers from crowds, even as tensions remain high.
In his Monday night address, Rajoelina insisted that “the constitution should be respected,” rejecting demands for his resignation.
His remarks were shared only on social media after soldiers reportedly occupied state television and radio stations ahead of the scheduled broadcast.
A former mayor of Antananarivo, Rajoelina first rose to prominence in 2009 when he led protests that ousted then-President Marc Ravalomanana. He was later elected president in 2018 and won re-election in 2023.
Now, history seems to be repeating itself as the country, long prone to political instability, faces its most serious crisis since that same 2009 coup.
Madagascar, a former French colony where nearly 75 percent of its 31 million citizens live in poverty, finds itself once again at a crossroads, with the military in charge and an uncertain path ahead.
