THE African Union told AFP Wednesday it was suspending Madagascar “with immediate effect” after a coup saw an elite army unit seize power following President Andry Rajoelina’s impeachment.
“The country is suspended with immediate effect,” AU Commission chair Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told AFP after Madagascar’s top court confirmed Colonel Michael Randrianirina as president to plunge the poor Indian Ocean nation into crisis.
The military leadership under Colonel Michael Randrianirina has promised elections within two years after President Andry Rajoelina was impeached following weeks of popular demonstrations.
The international community voiced alarm, with the United Nations censuring what it called an “unconstitutional” takeover.
The poor Indian Ocean nation was plunged into its worst political upheaval in years after the CAPSAT elite military unit took power moments after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina on Tuesday.
The 51-year-old president, in power since 2009, appeared to have fled the country as street protests escalated.
Madagascar is the latest of several former French colonies to have fallen under military control since 2020, after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon and Guinea.
CAPSAT commander Randrianirina will be sworn in as transitional president during a “solemn hearing” of the country’s top court on Friday, the new leadership said Wednesday.
It made the announcement in a statement attributed to the “Presidential Council for the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar” and signed by Randrianirina himself.
The colonel has said the transition to civilian leadership would take under two years and include the restructuring of major institutions.
“It wasn’t a coup, it was a case of taking responsibility because the country was on the brink of collapse,” Randrianirina said on television earlier Wednesday.
He pledged elections in 18 to 24 months and told local media that consultations were under way to appoint a prime minister and form a new government.
International concern
Randrianirina had long been a vocal critic of Rajoelina’s administration and was reportedly imprisoned for several months in 2023 for plotting a coup.
His swift takeover drew international concern.
The African Union on Wednesday told AFP it was suspending Madagascar “with immediate effect”.
The United Nations said they were “deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change of power”.
The capital Antananarivo remained calm Wednesday, though uncertainty lingered over what might come next.
A concert was held on the symbolic Place du 13 Mai square, in front of the city hall, where thousands of protesters and armed vehicles had clashed days before.
The youth-led Gen Z movement that initiated the protests on September 25 over lack of water and energy welcomed Randrianirina’s intervention.