Madagascar’s military announced it has suspended the country’s constitution and taken control of the government just hours after lawmakers voted to remove President Andry Rajoelina from office after a rising Gen Z-led protest movement peaked over the weekend.
Col. Michael Randrianirina of the Army Personnel Administration Center (CAPSAT) announced on Tuesday that military forces had entered the presidential palace in the capital, Antananarivo, and declared themselves in charge.
“We have taken the power,” Colonel Michael Randrianirina of the army’s CAPSAT unit said on national radio.
The military issued what it’s calling “Ordinance 2025-001,” which puts the 2010 Constitution on hold and kicks off a two-year transition period that will end with citizens voting on a brand new constitution, according to Anadolu Agency.
Under the military’s sweeping decree, five major government institutions have been shut down: the High Constitutional Court, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Senate, the High Council for the Defense of Human Rights, and the High Court of Justice. The National Assembly, however, will continue to operate. Rather than a single president, military officers will now collectively run the country, CAPSAT announced.
A Day of Rapid-Fire Political Drama
The military takeover capped off a chaotic day of political turmoil. Earlier on Tuesday, President Rajoelina had dissolved parliament as he faced mounting pressure from weeks of youth-led street protests. People have been demonstrating over widespread water and electricity shortages, along with accusations of government corruption. But lawmakers weren’t backing down—they quickly regrouped and voted to impeach the president.
The protests, which started on September 25, have only intensified despite Rajoelina’s attempts to calm things down by reshuffling his government, dissolving his Cabinet, and appointing a new prime minister and security chiefs.
Presidential Flight and International Concern
Rajoelina said on Monday that he was in a “safe space” following what he described as an assassination attempt. Reports suggest he was flown out to France on a military plane, possibly after coordinating with French President Emmanuel Macron. However, when reporters caught up with Macron in Egypt, he wouldn’t confirm whether he’d helped evacuate the Malagasy leader, though he did say France was “greatly concerned” about the situation.
Military’s Shifting Allegiances
CAPSAT—instrumental in Rajoelina’s 2009 rise during a previous coup—publicly backed the protests on Saturday. On Sunday, the unit installed a new military chief, hours after Rajoelina condemned its stance as an “attempt to seize power illegally.”
CAPSAT has outlined a two-year transition and a constitutional referendum, while the National Assembly remains the only unsuspended national institution. The confrontation leaves Madagascar in a power struggle between an impeached president asserting authority and a military unit claiming control pending a new political framework.
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