African Union Suspends Madagascar After Military Coup

The African Union (AU) has announced it will suspend Madagascar following a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.

A state television station reported on Thursday that military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina is set to be sworn in as Madagascar’s transitional president on Friday.

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

Randrianirina led a rebellion siding with the protesters to remove Rajoelina on Tuesday in Madagascar, a country of around 30 million people off Africa’s east coast.

The military takeover comes after weeks of protests organised by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar”, alongside labour unions and civic groups.

The demonstrators have demanded better governance and more job opportunities, echoing youth-led movements seen in other parts of the world.

Protesters have criticised the government for chronic water and electricity shortages, limited access to higher education, widespread corruption, and poverty, which affects roughly three out of every four Madagascans, according to the World Bank.

Although some observers say the military took advantage of the civilian protests, demonstrators cheered Randrianirina and soldiers from his elite CAPSAT unit as they rode through the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, on Tuesday. The colonel has promised elections within two years.

The protests reached a turning point on Saturday when Randrianirina and his unit openly joined demonstrators calling for Rajoelina’s resignation. The president said he fled to an undisclosed country, fearing for his life.

Randrianirina, a long-time critic of Rajoelina’s administration, was reportedly imprisoned for several months in 2023 over an alleged coup plot.

The African Union condemned the coup and announced Madagascar’s suspension from the bloc, while the United Nations said it was “deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change of power.”

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), of which Rajoelina was chairman, said it will send a fact-finding mission this week to help create a conducive environment for dialogue and stability.

SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation chairperson and Malawi President Arthur Peter Mutharika said the country’s former president, Joyce Banda, will lead the mission to Madagascar, accompanied by members of the Mediation Reference Group, Helen Lwegasila Brahim and Joey Bimha.

Since gaining independence from France in 1960, Madagascar has experienced a long history of coups and political crises.

Rajoelina succeeded Marc Ravalomanana, who resigned and handed power to a military council in 2009.

At the time, Rajoelina was the Mayor of Antananarivo and had led mass opposition protests against President Ravalomanana, accusing him of ruling in a dictatorial manner.

The crisis escalated until the military intervened. On 17 March 2009, Ravalomanana resigned and transferred authority to a military committee, which then handed power to Rajoelina on 18 March.

Ravalomanana had earlier succeeded Didier Ratsiraka, following a tense political crisis and a contested election in 2001.

As Mayor of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana ran against the incumbent Ratsiraka. Official results gave him a plurality of around 46%, which required a run-off election.

Ravalomanana rejected the results, claiming the vote had been rigged and insisting he had won outright in the first round.

His claims were backed by observers and amplified by widespread public dissatisfaction with Ratsiraka’s perceived corruption.

Supporters of Ravalomanana staged large-scale demonstrations and a general strike in the capital, paralysing the city.

Defying the official results, Ravalomanana declared himself president and held an inauguration in February 2002, establishing a parallel government while Ratsiraka’s administration fled to the port city of Toamasina.

An international mediation effort led to a recount by the High Constitutional Court in April 2002, which confirmed that Ravalomanana had indeed won an outright majority of 51.3% in the first round.

Although Ratsiraka initially refused to accept the recount, he eventually conceded in July 2002 and went into exile.