Madagascar military ousts President after impeachment
An elite military unit in Madagascar has seized power following the impeachment of President Andry Rajoelina by the national assembly for “desertion of duty.”
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, head of the CAPSAT military unit, announced on Tuesday that the army had taken control of the government after weeks of anti-government protests rocked the Indian Ocean nation.
“We have taken power,” Randrianirina told AFP after reading a statement at a government building in the capital, Antananarivo.
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He said the military would establish a transitional committee made up of officers from the army, gendarmerie, and national police to assume presidential functions, with plans to form a civilian government in the coming days.
CAPSAT, the same military unit that played a pivotal role in the 2009 coup which first brought Rajoelina to power, has once again emerged at the center of Madagascar’s political upheaval.
Randrianirina added that the transitional committee “may later include senior civilian advisers” to guide governance during the interim period.
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The takeover came shortly after the lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly—130 out of 163 members—to impeach President Rajoelina, surpassing the required two-thirds majority. The move now awaits validation by the High Constitutional Court.
The presidency, however, dismissed the impeachment session as “devoid of any legal basis,” noting that Rajoelina had earlier dissolved the national assembly by decree in an attempt to prevent the vote.
The 51-year-old president reportedly went into hiding after claiming there had been attempts on his life, saying he was in a “safe space” without disclosing his location.
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