Madagascar's military seized control of the government in a lightning-fast coup that sent President Andry Rajoelina fleeing the country and capped weeks of youth-led protests demanding his resignation over poverty, corruption, and failing infrastructure.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, commander of the elite CAPSAT military unit, announced from the steps of the presidential palace that the armed forces were taking power and would establish a transitional government. Minutes earlier, parliament had voted to impeach Rajoelina for abandoning his post after the president claimed his life was in danger and left the country over the weekend aboard what sources described as a French military aircraft.
"We have taken the power. The military is dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament."
Crowds in the capital city of Antananarivo celebrated the military takeover, cheering as Randrianirina and his troops rode through the streets in armored vehicles. The colonel pledged to hold elections within eighteen months to two years and announced the formation of a Council of the Presidency for the Re-Foundation of the Republic of Madagascar, composed of officers from the army and gendarmerie who would work alongside a civilian government.
The dramatic power shift followed three weeks of massive demonstrations led by groups calling themselves Gen Z Madagascar, echoing youth-led movements that have toppled governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and other nations. The protests initially erupted over chronic water and electricity outages but quickly expanded to encompass broader frustrations with government corruption, limited access to higher education, and crushing poverty affecting roughly seventy-five percent of Madagascar's thirty million people.
The turning point came Saturday when Randrianirina and soldiers from his CAPSAT unit joined the demonstrators and turned against Rajoelina. The same military unit had helped bring Rajoelina to power in a two thousand nine coup, making his overthrow particularly ironic. Randrianirina was briefly imprisoned in late two thousand twenty-three for an attempted mutiny and had been a vocal critic of the administration.
From an undisclosed location, Rajoelina issued statements condemning the military action as an illegal coup and attempted to dissolve parliament before lawmakers could impeach him. His office claimed some judges on the High Constitutional Court were threatened to legitimize what it characterized as an unconstitutional power grab. However, the court proceeded to invite Randrianirina to assume the presidency, and he was sworn in Friday at a formal ceremony.
The African Union suspended Madagascar from the organization with immediate effect, while the United Nations condemned the unconstitutional change of government and called for a return to democratic order. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed deep concern but denied that France played any role in helping Rajoelina flee. The former French colony has struggled with political instability since gaining independence in nineteen sixty, experiencing multiple coups and attempted coups that have hindered economic development despite the island nation serving as the world's largest vanilla producer.