Johannesburg — Large crowds gathered Friday in Madagascar’s capital city to watch the leader of the African island nation’s recent military coup be sworn in as its new president.
Col. Michael Randrianirina’s power was cemented after weeks of youth-led “Gen Z” protests culminated a dramatic few days of unrest, capped by former President Andry Rajoelina’s impeachment by the country’s highest court on Tuesday, for desertion of duty.
After weeks of demonstrations over a lack of jobs, water and regular power cuts, representatives of the youth-led protest movement stood Friday beside politicians and foreign delegations, including representatives from the U.S., to witness the swearing-in ceremony for the 51-year-old coup leader.
Randriairina said Friday that Madagascar had been propelled to a historic turning point, “with a people in full fervor, driven by the desire for change and a deep love for their homeland,” and he said his leadership would “joyfully open a new chapter in the life of our nation.”
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At least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured amid the mass unrest over the last few weeks, according to United Nation figures. As the violence flared last weekend, Randriairina appeared in a video, calling on soldiers to side with the student protest leaders.
Hours after the video was posted online, soldiers were seen clashing with police in the capital. There was no sign of or word from then-President Rajoelina during the chaos, leaving rumors to swirl that he had fled the country.
“Nothing is working in Madagascar, there is no president, no president of the senate, no president of the government,” Randriairina declared, appearing on the streets. “Nothing is working, so we have to take responsibility, that’s it.”
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French media reported that forces from the country, which was Madagascar’s colonial ruler until the late 1950s, had evacuated Rajoelina to Reunion Island, and that he later flew to Dubai.
In a statement cited by the French news agency AFP, Rajoelina said he left the country between October 11 and 12, after “explicit and extremely serious threats” to his life.
On October 14, the former president was impeached by the National Assembly, a move later approved Madagascar’s highest court, and the military seized power.
Both the United Nations and the African Union have condemned the military’s takeover, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying Thursday that “the unconstitutional change of government in Madagascar” should be reversed by a “return to constitutional order and the rule of law,” according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
The African Union suspended Madagascar’s membership and called for immediate elections and a return to civilian rule.
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Randrianirina had become a vocal critic of Rajoelina in recent years, and he was arrested and imprisoned in November 2023 for three months after for instigating a mutiny.
Amid the international criticism, Randrianirina denied this week that he had initiated a coup, pointing to the constitutional court’s backing of his new role. Speaking with journalists at various times this week, he was careful to repeatedly deny that it even was a coup, saying at one point: “I don’t think there was a coup. The army is just showing the Malagasy people that we still exist.”
At the swearing-in ceremony, Randrianirina shed his military garb for a suit and tie and said he would appoint a civilian prime minister and hold elections within two years.
He has suspended most civil institutions in the country, however, and announced a new military council made up of army and police officers to lead the nation, which is home to some 32 million people.
This is the third military power transition Madagascar has seen since gaining independence from France, with previous coups putting commanders in power in 1972 and 2009.
World Bank figures show up to 80% of the country’s population lives below the poverty line, making it one of the world’s poorest nations.
It is also the latest of several former French African colonies to fall under military control in just half of a decade, following coups in Mali, Gabon, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
