The former president of Madagascar was stripped of his citizenship

Andry Rajoelina, the former president of Madagascar, was deposed in a coup on October 14 and the new government has revoked his citizenship, according to the BBC.

The directive, which was signed by Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, the new prime minister, referenced local legislation that stipulated that anyone who obtained foreign citizenship were to forfeit their Malagasy nationality.

The island nation’s ruler since 2009, Rajoelina, became a citizen of France ten years ago, which sparked demands that he be disqualified from the 2023 presidential election. He went on to win, however, despite those calls.

He left the African island nation following weeks of demonstrations against ongoing water and electricity shortages, which resulted in a military coup headed by Col. Michael Randrianirina.

Although his whereabouts are unknown, 51-year-old Rajoelina has stated that he has gone into hiding for his own safety.

Months before Madagascar’s most recent presidential election, he revealed that he was French, claiming that he had only obtained the citizenship in secret to facilitate his children’s studies in France.

His government’s violent response to the rallies, which were first organized by the youth movement Gen Z Mada and were sparked by similar anti-government demonstrations in Nepal, has made matters worse in recent weeks.

Rajoelina dismissed his government and then his energy minister, but this did little to stop the calls for his resignation.

The expectation among protesters was that Rajoelina would step down in order to facilitate a peaceful, democratic transition.

Rather, he held onto power, which ultimately allowed Madagascar’s highly skilled military, of which Randrianirina was the commander, to take control.

Now that he has been sworn in as president, the military leader has established a new government and promised to hold elections in the next two years.