AU SUSPENDS MADAGASCAR AS COUP LEADER RANDRIANIRINA GEARS UP FOR PRESIDENTIAL OATH

CAPSAT military unit commander Colonel Michael Randrianirina joins protesters to announce that the armed forces are taking control of the country in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Thu 16 October 2025:

Colonel Michael Randrianirina, a military leader, is set to be inaugurated as Madagascar’s interim president on Friday, according to the nation’s new leadership, while the African Union (AU) has declared its intention to suspend the country following a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.

“The rule of law must prevail over the rule of force,” said AU Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in a statement, noting the suspension was with immediate effect.

President Andry Rajoelina fled the country, fearing for his safety, after weeks of anti-government “Gen-Z” protests which were joined by military factions over water and electricity shortages, with his firing of the entire government only exacerbating calls for his resignation.

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From an undisclosed location, he attempted to dissolve the National Assembly by decree.

The National Assembly disregarded the decree and voted to impeach him on Tuesday.

Shortly after, Colonel Michael Randrianirina and his elite CAPSAT military unit announced that the military had taken control, dissolved most state institutions and would install a transitional government.

Randrianirina told reporters earlier Wednesday that he would soon be sworn in as president after the High Constitutional Court invited him to serve in the role.

Also on Wednesday, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) selected a panel of elders in a bid to de-escalate tensions in the former French colony.

Malawian President Peter Mutharika, chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, said in a statement that the panel would be led by former Malawian President Joyce Banda on the mission to achieve restraint, peace and dialogue in the island nation.

“No further Malagasy lives should be lost due to the unrest,” Mutharika said.

The latest military takeover capped weeks of protests against Rajoelina and his government, led by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar”. The protesters, who also included labour unions and civic groups, have demanded better government and job opportunities, echoing youth-led protests elsewhere in the world.

Among other things, the Madagascar protesters have railed against chronic water and electricity outages, limited access to higher education, government corruption and poverty, which affects roughly three out of every four Madagascans, according to the World Bank.

Although some suggest the military seized power on the backs of the civilian protesters, demonstrators cheered Randrianirina and other soldiers from his elite CAPSAT unit as they triumphantly rode through the streets of the capital Antananarivo on Tuesday. The colonel has promised elections in two years.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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