Madagascar plunges deeper into crisis as President Andry Rajoelina dissolves parliament to avert impeachment amid deadly protests.
Madagascar’s political crisis deepened on Tuesday after President Andry Rajoelina dissolved the National Assembly, pre-empting an opposition-led impeachment vote aimed at removing him from office following weeks of deadly anti-government protests.
The decree, announced through a presidential statement broadcast on radio and television, takes effect immediately, marking a new phase in the country’s escalating unrest.
“The People must be heard again. Make way for the youth,” Rajoelina declared in a social media post defending the decision. He said the dissolution was necessary to “restore order within our nation and strengthen democracy.”
The 51-year-old president, who has faced over two weeks of violent street protests, has reportedly gone into hiding after multiple attempts on his life.
What began as youth-led demonstrations over economic hardship and corruption has now spiralled into a full-blown political revolt, with mutinous soldiers and members of the elite CAPSAT unit — the same force that helped Rajoelina seize power in a 2009 coup — joining the protesters over the weekend.
According to local reports, at least a dozen people have been killed since protests began on September 25, while dozens more have been injured as clashes between demonstrators and security forces intensify in the capital, Antananarivo.
Opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko condemned the president’s move, describing it as “a desperate attempt to cling to power.”
He said the opposition bloc had planned to vote on Rajoelina’s impeachment this week for “desertion of duty,” following reports that the president had fled the country.
“Madagascar cannot be governed from exile,” Randrianasoloniaiko told supporters. “We will not allow one man to destroy our democracy.”
Meanwhile, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported that Rajoelina had departed Madagascar aboard a French military plane over the weekend, though French authorities have yet to confirm the claim.
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