Madagascar parliament impeaches President Rajoelina as military seizes control: Video
Madagascar was plunged into deeper political turmoil on Tuesday after the country’s National Assembly voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina.
In a parliamentary session in the capital, lawmakers cast their ballots one by one, ultimately delivering a unanimous verdict against the president. National Assembly Vice-President Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko announced the result to loud applause, declaring that all 131 participating members had voted in favour of impeachment, with only one spoiled ballot and no dissenting votes.
Viory reports that shortly after the vote, Colonel Michael Randrianirina of an elite military unit appeared on national television to proclaim that the armed forces had assumed control of the state. He announced the suspension of key constitutional institutions, including the Senate and the Constitutional Court, while installing a transitional authority expected to govern for up to two years before a national referendum and elections. The National Assembly, however, will remain in place during the transition.
Earlier in the day, President Rajoelina condemned the developments as an attempted coup, urging calm in a televised address. Reports later emerged that he had fled the country aboard a French military aircraft, though his whereabouts remain unconfirmed.
The move comes amid weeks of widespread unrest across Madagascar, driven largely by young protesters angry over corruption, rising living costs, unemployment, and chronic shortages of power and water. The United Nations estimates that at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in recent clashes, although government officials dispute these figures.
Rajoelina, a former DJ-turned-politician, first came to power in 2009 after mass protests led to the ousting of then-President Marc Ravalomanana. He was re-elected in 2018 and again in 2023.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
