Madagascar president dissolves parliament after fleeing army-backed protest

Andry Rajoelina issues the decree implicit societal media up of an impeachment vote, but helium appears adjacent to losing power.

Madagascar’s embattled President Andry Rajoelina has issued a decree dissolving the National Assembly arsenic helium bids to avert a descent from power.

Rajoelina, who has fled the country, issued the decree connected societal media connected Tuesday, up of a planned impeachment vote. However, with parts of the subject and the constabulary offering enactment to mass protests calling for his resignation, his efforts to cling to powerfulness endanger to nonstop the land nation’s governmental situation spiralling into chaos.

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The decree to dissolve the assembly “shall participate into unit instantly upon its work by vigor and/or tv broadcast,” the presidency said successful a connection published connected Facebook.

Rajoelina, whose existent whereabouts are unknown, defended the determination successful a abstracted societal media station arsenic indispensable to “restore bid wrong our federation and fortify democracy”.

But absorption person Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko – who had been readying a ballot to impeach Rajoelina connected Tuesday – said the decree was “not legally valid”, due to the fact that the president of the National Assembly, Justin Tokely, was not consulted implicit the move.

President successful hiding

Rajoelina, a erstwhile politician of the capital, Antananarivo, said successful a code broadcast connected societal media connected Monday nighttime that helium had near the state successful fearfulness for his beingness and was sheltering successful a “safe space”.

A subject root told the Reuters quality bureau that Rajoelina near the state connected Sunday connected committee a French service aircraft, though President Emmanuel Macron refused to corroborate that his authorities had played a role.

Rajoelina’s departure came aft service units defected connected Saturday, with the president condemning the determination arsenic “an attempt to prehend power illegally and by force”.

Hours aft his comments, the army’s elite CAPSAT unit, which played a cardinal relation successful the 2009 coup that archetypal brought Rajoelina to power, said it had taken power of the country’s military.

It had earlier announced that it would “refuse orders to shoot” demonstrators.

Police backmost protesters

On Tuesday, a privately owned quality website successful Madagascar, 2424.mg, reported that the constabulary had besides joined the subject and gendarmerie successful backing the demonstrations.

Led by Gen Z groups, the antigovernment protests implicit h2o and powerfulness outages began connected September 25. However, they soon expanded to encompass wider grievances implicit the outgo of living, poorness and alleged authorities corruption, fuelling wide calls for Rajoelina’s resignation.

The president’s effort to unopen down the parliament made wide that helium remains adamant that helium volition not conscionable the demand.

The 51-year-old said helium was “on a ngo to find solutions” to the governmental situation and would not fto the impoverished federation “destroy itself”.

That saw thousands stitchery successful the superior erstwhile much to protestation connected Tuesday, with civilian servants and commercialized unionists besides joining the crowd.

‘Reformist’

Positioning himself arsenic a reformist, Rajoelina led a transitional authorities until 2014, stepping speech to reconstruct law order. He returned aft winning the 2019 predetermination and secured a 2nd afloat word successful 2023.

The United Nations says astatine slightest 22 radical person been killed and much than 100 injured since the demonstrations began, though the authorities disputes these figures.

One CAPSAT worker died successful clashes with the gendarmerie connected Saturday, earlier a wide determination by the country’s information forces towards enactment for the demonstrations.

The protests person exposed heavy vexation successful 1 of the world’s poorest nations, wherever lone a 3rd of the colonisation has entree to energy and blackouts routinely transcend 8 hours a day.

The Gen Z Madagascar question has drawn inspiration from caller uprisings that person challenged governments successful respective countries, including Kenya, Indonesia and Peru.

Such youth-led demonstrations successful South Asia person unseated governments successful Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Gen Z Madagascar has refused authorities offers for dialogue, contempt repeated outreach efforts by Rajoelina’s administration.