By Tim Cocks
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina is no longer believed to be in the country after being flown out of the African nation on a French military plane following an agreement with President Emmanuel Macron, French radio RFI reported on Monday.
Rajoelina was increasingly isolated after losing the support of a key army unit that joined thousands of young people protesting against corruption and poverty and demanding her resignation.
A spokesperson for Madagascar’s presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the RFI report.
Demonstrations in the former French colony broke out on September 25 over water and power shortages, but quickly turned into an uprising over broader grievances, including poor governance and a lack of basic services.
In a new challenge to Rajoelina, opposition members of Madagascar’s National Assembly will begin impeachment proceedings against him, opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko told Reuters on Monday.
WARNED OF A COUP ON SUNDAY
Rajoelina warned on Sunday of an attempt to seize power in the island nation off the coast of southern Africa after losing the support of CAPSAT, an elite unit that helped him seize power in a coup in 2009, following more than two weeks of Generation Z protests.
CAPSAT said over the weekend that it would take over the army and appointed a new army chief. On Monday, a paramilitary gendarmerie faction supporting the protests also took control of the gendarmerie in a formal ceremony in the presence of senior government officials, a Reuters witness said.
The president of the Senate, the focus of public anger during the protests, was relieved of his duties, the Senate said in a statement, and Jean André Ndremanjary was appointed on a temporary basis.
In the absence of the president, the leader of the Senate assumes office until elections are held.
GEN Z PROTESTS REFLECT THOSE IN NEPAL AND KENYA
On Monday, thousands of people gathered in a square in the capital chanting “the president must resign now.”
Hotel worker Adrianarivony Fanomegantsoa, ​​22, told Reuters his monthly salary of 300,000 aria ($67) was barely enough to cover food, explaining his reasons for joining the protests.
“In 16 years, the president and his government have done nothing but get rich while people remain poor. And the young people, Generation Z, are the ones who suffer the most,” he said.
According to the UN, at least 22 people have died in clashes between protesters and security forces since September 25.
The anger reflects recent demonstrations in countries such as Morocco, Nepal and Kenya against ruling elites, with protesters sporting T-shirts and flags with the same symbol – a skull with a straw hat from the Japanese manga series “One Piece” – worn by their counterparts in Asia and Latin America.
Madagascar, where the average age is less than 20, has a population of around 30 million, three-quarters of whom live in poverty, and GDP per capita plummeted 45% between independence in 1960 and 2020, according to the World Bank.
While the country is best known for producing most of the world’s vanilla, other exports, such as nickel, cobalt, textiles and shrimp, are also vital for overseas income and employment.
(Reporting by Lovasoa Rabary and Tim Cocks; writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Bate Felix, Ammu Kannampilly, Timothy Heritage, Alexandra Hudson)