Madagascar coup: Army seizes power after parliament ousts president

A Madagascar army colonel, who led a mutiny of soldiers that joined anti-government protesters, said that the military had taken charge of the African island nation after the country's lower house of parliament voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina.

"We have taken the power," Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on national radio on Tuesday, adding that the military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament, which voted to impeach Rajoelina just minutes before his announcement.

The National Assembly decision, by 130 yes votes to one blank ballot, came hours after the 51-year-old leader sought to dissolve the National Assembly by decree, deepening the Indian Ocean island's political crisis.

Despite flying out, Rajoelina is refusing to step down in defiance of weeks of protests demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the army.

The presidency said the assembly meeting was unconstitutional, and thus any resolution is "null and void".

France ‘expresses concern’

Demonstrations erupted in the country on September 25 over water and power shortages and quickly escalated into an uprising over broader grievances, including corruption, bad governance and a lack of basic services.

Rajoelina said on Monday that he was sheltering in a "safe space" after an “attempt on his life", as he was reported to have been evacuated to France on a military plane after "a deal" with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron declined to confirm whether the island nation’s embattled leader was evacuated by its former colonial ruler, telling reporters in Egypt that "I just wish to express our great concern.”

Macron also said that constitutional order must be preserved and that while France understood the grievances of the youth, they should not be exploited by military factions.

Rajoelina has appeared increasingly isolated after losing the support of CAPSAT, an elite unit which had helped him seize power in a 2009 coup.

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Source: TRT