Madagascar’s military ruler, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, said on Wednesday he expects to be sworn in as president within days, consolidating a takeover that forced President Andry Rajoelina to flee abroad after weeks of Gen Z-led protests and a widening security-force mutiny.
Speaking at a press briefing, Randrianirina said the armed forces had assumed control and dissolved state institutions “except the National Assembly,” and that a military-led committee would oversee a transition of up to two years before elections are organised. The country’s High Constitutional Court on Tuesday invited him to serve as head of state.
Rajoelina, who condemned the takeover and has refused to resign, left Madagascar on Sunday aboard a French military aircraft and is now believed to be in Dubai, according to officials and diplomatic sources. Lawmakers impeached him after his departure.
Randrianirina, an army colonel from the elite CAPSAT unit that helped install Rajoelina during the 2009 coup, broke with the president last week and urged troops not to fire on demonstrators as police and gendarmes peeled away from the government.
The protests, driven by anger over corruption, water and power shortages, and economic hardship, swelled through early October as parts of the security forces defected. With institutions largely suspended under military rule, civic groups have urged a swift, credible timetable back to civilian government.
Randrianirina did not provide an exact inauguration date but said, “We took responsibility yesterday,” adding the oath ceremony would follow soon.