A MADAGASCAR army colonel says the military has taken charge of the African island nation after its parliament voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina, following weeks of youth-led antigovernment protests.
There were celebrations in the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, following Colonel Michael Randrianirina’s announcement, which came almost immediately after parliament voted on Tuesday to impeach Rajoelina, who fled the country after soldiers joined the mass protests.
“We have taken the power,” Randrianirina said, adding that the military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament.
He later told reporters that a committee led by the military would rule the country for a period of up to two years alongside a transitional government before organising new elections.
“The renovation period will last a maximum of two years. During this time, a referendum will be held to establish a new constitution, followed by elections to gradually set up the new institutions,” he told reporters.
“The following institutions are suspended: the Senate, the High Constitutional Court, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the High Court of Justice, and the High Council for the Defense of Human Rights and the Rule of Law,” a statement from the country’s military leaders said.
In a day of turmoil, Rajoelina, whose whereabouts are unknown, earlier sought to dissolve the lower house by decree.
But lawmakers went ahead with a vote to impeach him, leaving the country in a constitutional deadlock that the military seized upon to declare they were taking charge.
“The president of the republic remains fully in office and ensures the maintenance of constitutional order and national stability,” the presidency said in a statement.
Reporting from the headquarters of the army unit that has taken charge of the country, Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller said crowds of people in the capital cheered Randrianirina’s announcement.
“Crowds outside cheered, shouted. They welcomed this announcement,” Miller reported. “So far, we’ve not seen any rejection of the army taking over.”
Rajoelina had been facing growing calls to resign throughout weeks of youth-led antigovernment protests. A turning point in the protests came on Saturday when an elite military unit joined the demonstrators and turned against him. That prompted Rajoelina to say there was an attempt to seize power, and he went into hiding.
Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, said in a speech broadcast on social media on Monday night that he had left the country in fear for his life and was sheltering in a “safe space”.
A military source told the Reuters news agency that Rajoelina left the country on Sunday on board a French army aircraft, although France’s President Emmanuel Macron refused to confirm that his government had played a role.
Hours after Rajoelina spoke of “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force”, the army’s elite CAPSAT unit, which played a key role in the 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina to power, said it had taken control of the military. It had earlier announced it would “refuse orders to shoot” demonstrators.
