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Madagascar’s military has taken charge of the African island nation, an army colonel announced on Tuesday, after a rising Gen Z-led protest movement peaked over the weekend.
“We have taken the power,” Colonel Michael Randrianirina of the army’s CAPSAT unit said on national radio.
The military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament, Randianirina said, shortly after lawmakers voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina, who had earlier fled the country, saying he feared for his life.
The presidency denounced the military takeover as an “attempted coup,” saying the president was still in office.
Earlier on Tuesday, Rajoelina had announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, in a move that seemingly attempted to block the impeachment vote.
Madagascar unrest escalates into ‘attempt to seize power’
What did the military say will happen next?
Randrianirina said the elite military unit he belongs to, the CAPSAT, would set up a committee made up of officers from the army, paramilitary gendarmerie and national police.
“Perhaps in time it will include senior civilian advisers. It is this committee that will carry out the work of the presidency,” Randrianirina said in his statement. “At the same time, after a few days, we will set up a civilian government.”
He added that a prime minister would be appointed quickly.
The military has suspended the country’s Senate, high constitutional court, electoral body and other state institutions, the Reuters news agency said, leaving the National Assembly as the only functioning legislative body.
On Tuesday, 130 members of parliament voted in favor of impeaching the president, well above the two-thirds constitutional threshold required to do so.
The presidency has called the assembly meeting unconstitutional and any resulting resolution “null and void” after the president dissolved the National Assembly.
Later on Tuesday, the High Constitutional Court announced that the president’s post was now vacant, inviting the military under the leadership of Randrianirina to exercise the functions of the head of state.
What you need to know about Madagascar’s Gen Z protests
Madagascar presidency condemns ‘attempted coup’
The presidency condemned the military’s takeover in a Facebook statement on Tuesday, stressing that Rajoelina remained the president of the country.
“The presence of armed military forces in front of the presidential palace constitutes a clear act of attempted coup d’etat,” it said.
“The president of the republic remains fully in office and ensures the maintenance of constitutional order and national stability,” it added.
What do we know about the protest movement?
Rajoelina was a former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. The CAPSAT played a pivotal role in the 2009 coup that brought him to power.
Protests against him started on September 25 but reached a crescendo over the weekend, when soldiers and security forces, including CAPSAT, joined in.
Protesters, initially rallying against power and water shortages, then started calling on Rajoelina and other government ministers to step down.
On Monday,said he was in a “safe space” after attempts on his life, without disclosing his location.
The reports of fresh involvement drew further protests from civil servants and trade unionists.
