Madagascar enters military rule after colonel seizes power

Madagascar braced for military rule Wednesday after an elite army unit seized power following President Andry Rajoelina’s impeachment, promising elections within two years as the international community voiced alarm over the crisis.

The poor Indian Ocean nation was plunged into its worst political upheaval in years after the CAPSAT military contingent assumed power moments after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who appeared to have fled the country as street protests escalated.

It becomes the latest former French colony to fall under military control since 2020, joining coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon, and Guinea.

CAPSAT commander Colonel Michael Randrianirina, confirmed as president by the top court, said the transition to civilian leadership would take under two years and include the restructuring of major institutions.

“It would be best to hold a swearing-in ceremony as soon as possible,” Randrianirina told local television Wednesday.

“It wasn’t a coup, it was a case of taking responsibility because the country was on the brink of collapse,” he said, having pledged elections in 18 to 24 months and told local media that consultations were underway to appoint a prime minister and form a new government.

The transition would be overseen by a committee of officers from the army, gendarmerie and police.

Randrianirina had long been a vocal critic of Rajoelina’s administration and was reportedly imprisoned for several months in 2023 for plotting a coup.

The swift takeover has drawn international concern.

The African Union on Wednesday told AFP it was suspending Madagascar “with immediate effect”, while the United Nations said they were “deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change of power”.

France urged in a statement that it was “now essential that democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law be scrupulously upheld.”

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry said all actors needed to “act with caution in this currently somewhat confusing situation”, while Russia called for “exercising restraint and preventing bloodshed.”

The security body of regional SADC grouping — of which Rajoelina was holding the rotating presidency — also expressed concern.

– ‘Victory gave hope’ –

The capital Antananarivo remained calm on Wednesday, though uncertainty lingered over what might come next.

A concert was held on the symbolic Place du 13 Mai square, in front of the city hall, where thousands of protesters and armed vehicles had clashed days before.

The youth-led Gen Z movement that initiated the protests on September 25 over lack of water and energy before they later swelled into broader anger at the political elite have welcomed the intervention of Randrianirina.

The colonel had said he is “ready to talk to the youth and we are ready to answer the call,” Gen Z said in a post on Facebook, reiterating its calls for “systemic change”.

“We’re worried about what comes next, but we’re savouring this first victory that gave us hope,” 26-year-old Fenitra Razafindramanga, captain of Madagascar’s national rugby team, told AFP.

In the northern city of Antsiranana, an entrepreneur who identified herself only as Muriella was relieved that Rajoelina was no longer in power.

“It feels like we’ve just been released from prison,” she told AFP, adding: “This is also a message to his successor: learn from this and don’t make the same mistakes.”

The presidency, however, denounced what it called “a clear act of attempted coup” and insisted that Rajoelina — whose whereabouts remained unknown and who was last seen in public a week ago — “remains fully in office.”

It said on Wednesday the constitutional court’s decision was riddled with procedural illegalities and risked destabilising the country.

“This decision, tainted by multiple defects in both substance and form, is illegal, irregular, and unconstitutional,” it said.

Rajoelina, re-elected in disputed polls in 2023, came to power in a 2009 military-backed coup that was denounced by the international community, which froze foreign aid and investment for nearly four years.

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He resisted mounting calls to step down, saying in a national address from an unknown location on Monday that he was seeking solutions to Madagascar’s problems.

Amid reports that he had been helped to leave with assistance from France, the former colonial power, he said he was in a “safe place to protect my life”.

AFP