An elite military unit in Madagascar has announced the overthrow of President Andry Rajoelina after the national assembly voted to impeach him for “desertion of duty.”
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, head of the elite CAPSAT military unit, told AFP on Tuesday that the group had taken control of the government. “We have taken power,” he said after reading a statement at a government building in the capital, Antananarivo.
According to Randrianirina, a transitional committee composed of officers from the army, gendarmerie, and national police will assume presidential duties. “Perhaps in time it will include senior civilian advisers. It is this committee that will carry out the work of the presidency,” he said, adding that a civilian government would be formed “in a few days.”
The development came shortly after the lower house of parliament voted to impeach the 51-year-old president, despite his attempts to dissolve the assembly earlier in the day to prevent the session. The impeachment motion passed with 130 votes in favour — well above the two-thirds majority required in the 163-member chamber. The decision now awaits validation by the High Constitutional Court.
Rajoelina, who first came to power in 2009 following a military-backed coup led by the same CAPSAT unit, reportedly went into hiding after weeks of anti-government protests. On Monday, he said he was sheltering in a “safe space” following alleged attempts on his life.
The protests, which began on September 25, escalated over the weekend as mutinous soldiers and security forces joined demonstrators calling for the president and his ministers to resign.
