Madagascar’s coup leader says he will take the oath of office as president
Michael Randrianirina, the new military leader of Madagascar, announced Wednesday that he will shortly take the oath of office as president. The African Union had suspended the island nation following a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.
Rajoelina, who was impeached by MPs after escaping overseas over the weekend, has denounced the coup and refuses to quit in spite of widespread defections in the security forces and Gen Z protests calling for his resignation.
According to Randrianirina, the military had seized control and disbanded all institutions but the National Assembly, which is the lowest chamber of parliament.
On Wednesday, the army colonel told a press briefing that “we will be sworn in soon,” one day after the High Constitutional Court had asked him to be the president of the former French colony.
“We took responsibility yesterday.”
He will take the oath of office as president within the next day or two, according to two familiar sources who spoke to Reuters earlier.
It must be the rule of law.
An African Union representative told Reuters on Wednesday that the union has banned Madagascar immediately after the coup, but he did not provide any other information. The 55-member bloc has the political clout to suspend, which may alienate the nation’s new leadership.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf stated earlier Wednesday at a bloc meeting: “The rule of law must take precedence over the rule of force. Our strategy is based on both communication and the law.
In addition to a transitional administration, Randrianirina said on Tuesday that a military-led committee will govern for a maximum of two years before holding fresh elections.
Randrianirina, who was a commander in the prestigious CAPSAT army unit that was instrumental in the 2009 coup that installed Rajoelina, split from him last week and called on soldiers to refrain from shooting protestors.
BREAKS IN PROMISES
Security sources told Reuters that Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday on a French military aircraft. According to three opposition and diplomatic sources, he currently appears to be in Dubai and has stated that his life was in danger.
In 2009, the 51-year-old former DJ became the youngest leader of state in history, having risen to power in a coup fueled by youth protests. However, pledges to raise conditions of living and combat corruption were never kept.
With an average age of under 20, Madagascar is home to over 30 million people, three-quarters of whom are impoverished. As per the World Bank, the country’s GDP per capita fell by 45% between 1960 and 2020.
The paramilitary gendarmerie and the police have also split from Rajoelina, in addition to the CAPSAT unit.
