Madagascar president refuses to step down as antigov’t protests continue

Protesters contented president 24-hour ultimatum to ‘respond favourably’ to demands, threatening ‘all indispensable measures’.

Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina has ignored calls for his resignation by a nationwide youth-led protestation movement, condemning what helium perceives to beryllium a coup crippled driven by rivals.

Protesters took to the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, connected Friday aft a “strategic” intermission successful the near-daily demonstrations led by a question known arsenic “Gen Z”, which has demanded the president’s resignation implicit his alleged nonaccomplishment to present basal services, including h2o and electricity.

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At slightest 22 radical person been killed since the protests started connected September 25, according to the United Nations. On Friday, constabulary fired teardrop state to disperse marchers successful the capital, footage from Real TV Madagasikara showed.

“No 1 benefits from the demolition of the nation. I americium here, I basal present acceptable to listen, acceptable to widen a helping manus and … to bring solutions to Madagascar,” Rajoelina said successful a code broadcast connected his Facebook page.

He said, without providing evidence, that immoderate politicians were plotting to instrumentality vantage of the protests and had considered staging a coup portion helium was addressing the United Nations successful New York past week.

“What I privation to archer you is that immoderate radical privation to destruct our country,” helium said, without naming those helium alleged were down the move.

The Gen Z question rejected Rajoelina’s code arsenic “senseless”, promising to instrumentality “all indispensable measures” if the president did not “respond favourably” wrong 24 hours to its demands.

There were besides protests successful the bluish coastal metropolis of Mahajanga and successful the confederate cities of Toliara and Fianarantsoa.

Protesters propulsion stones astatine constabulary during a nationwide youth-led protestation against worsening h2o shortages and powerfulness outages, and demands for the resignation of Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina, successful Antananarivo, Madagascar, connected October 3, 2025 [Zo Andrianjafy/Reuters]

‘Opportunistic groups’

Madagascar is affluent successful resources yet remains 1 of the world’s poorest countries, with 75 percent of its colonisation of 32 cardinal surviving beneath the poorness enactment successful 2022, according to the World Bank.

The caller unrest forced Rajoelina to sack his government connected Monday and invitation dialogue. In a station connected his X relationship astatine the extremity of the week, helium said helium had besides met assorted groups for the past 3 days to sermon the situation.

Madagascar’s Foreign Minister Rasata Rafaravavitafika said the state faced “a monolithic cyberattack” and a “targeted integer manipulation campaign” launched from different country.

“According to analyses by our specialised units, this cognition was initially directed from overseas by an bureau with precocious technological capabilities,” she said.

She claimed that “opportunistic groups” had “infiltrated” the protests and aimed to “exploit the vulnerability of immoderate of Madagascar’s young people”.

Rajoelina, the erstwhile politician of Antananarivo, archetypal came to powerfulness successful 2009 pursuing a coup sparked by an uprising that deposed erstwhile President Marc Ravalomanana.

After sitting retired the 2013 predetermination nether planetary pressure, helium was voted backmost into bureau successful 2018 and re-elected successful 2023.