The army in Madagascar seized power on Tuesday, days after the president went into hiding saying he feared for his life after several weeks of massive anti-government protests.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, from elite military unit CAPSAT, announced the army was in control of the African island nation and would establish a committee composed of army and police brass. He said they would then set up a civilian government “quickly.”‘
His statement came just minutes after members of parliament had voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina for abandoning his post after he was believed to have fled the country over the weekend. On Monday Rajoelina broadcast an address on social media saying he was in hiding in an undisclosed location.
The impeachment vote — which garnered 130 “yes” votes and one blank ballot — went ahead even though Rajoelina took steps the same day to prevent it by dissolving the lower house of parliament.
After the army’s announcement they’d taken control a statement posted to the official Facebook page of the Madagascan presidency denounced what it called “a coup d’etat” and insisted Rajoelina remained in charge.
Madagascar’s youth took to the streets of the capital Antananarivo in so-called “Gen Z” protests last month demanding Rajoelina resign, amid anger over the water and electricity shortages crippling the country. NPR spoke to protesters who said they hadn’t had water out the taps for six years, despite still paying for it.
Over the weekend, the CAPSAT military unit announced they had sided with the protesters and would not move to quash any demonstrators, calling them “our brothers, our sisters.”
Rajoelina then fled, reportedly in a French plane though that is unconfirmed, while some of his officials are believed to have escaped to Mauritius.
The baby-faced president tried to appease the demonstrators by sacking his government, but they continued to demand he resign himself. The United Nations says more than 20 people were killed during the protests and that authorities had used deadly force.
