Embattled Madagascar President to address nation after coup warning
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina is set to address the nation on Monday evening, his office said, following a weekend in which he lost the support of a key army unit amid youth-led protests calling for his resignation.
The demonstrations, which began on September 25 over chronic water and power shortages, have evolved into a broader movement against corruption, poverty, and bad governance, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Rajoelina warned on Sunday of an attempted coup after the elite CAPSAT military unit — which helped him seize power in 2009 — announced its support for protesters. The president’s whereabouts remain unclear, with the public security minister saying she did not know where he was, although his office insists he remains in Antananarivo.
Over the weekend, CAPSAT declared control of the military and appointed General Demosthene Pikulas as army chief. On Monday, a faction of the paramilitary gendarmerie aligned with protesters also took command of the force. The Senate president, a target of public anger, was removed and temporarily replaced by Jean Andre Ndremanjary.
At least 22 people have been killed in clashes since the unrest began, according to the United Nations. The protests, largely driven by Gen Z activists, mirror similar youth uprisings in Kenya, Nepal, and Morocco, with demonstrators adopting the skull-and-straw-hat symbol from the Japanese manga One Piece.
The crisis marks the most serious challenge to Rajoelina’s rule since his re-election in 2023.
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