AU suspends Madagascar as military leader to be invested as president | African Union News

Colonel Randrianirina will take over the presidency in Madagascar after the impeachment of President Andry Rajoelina.

Military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina will be installed as Madagascar’s transitional president on Friday, the country’s new leadership announced, as the African Union (AU) said it would suspend the country following a coup to oust the country. President Andry Rajoelina.

Randrianirina “will be sworn in as president of the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar during a solemn hearing of the Constitutional Court” on October 17, according to the statement, published this Thursday on social networks by a state television network.

Rajoelina, who was impeached by lawmakers after fleeing abroad over the weekend, condemned the takeover and refused to step down despite youth-led demonstrations calling for his resignation and widespread desertions in the security forces.

Randrianirina led a rebellion that sided with the protesters and expelled Rajoelina on Tuesday in the sprawling country of about 30 million people off the east coast of Africa. Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the country has had a history of coups and political crises.

The latest military takeover has been met weeks of protests against Rajoelina and its government, led by youth groups that call themselves “Gen Z Madagascar”. The protesters, who also included unions and civic groups, demanded better government and job opportunities, echoing youth-led protests elsewhere in the world.

Among other things, Madagascar’s protesters criticized chronic water and electricity cuts, limited access to higher education, government corruption and poverty, which affects roughly three out of four Malagasy people, according to the World Bank.

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

The takeover was “an awakening of the people. It was launched by the youth. And the military supported us,” said protest leader Safika, who gave only one name as is customary with protesters. “We must always be cautious, but the current state gives us reason to be confident,” Safika told The Associated Press news agency.

The protests reached a turning point on Saturday when Randrianirina and soldiers from his unit sided with protesters calling for the president’s resignation. Rajoelina said she fled to an undisclosed country because she feared for her life.

Randrianirina had long been critical of Rajoelina’s administration and was jailed for several months in 2023 for plotting a coup.

His quick takeover caused international concern. The African Union condemned the coup and announced the suspension of the country from the bloc. The United Nations said it was “deeply concerned about the unconstitutional change of power”.