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Madagascar鈥檚 president says an attempted coup is in progress

After soldiers joined youth-led protests, Madagascar鈥檚 president warned of an attempt to 鈥渟eize power illegally.鈥�

First Look

Madagascar鈥檚 president said Oct. 12 that an attempted coup was underway in the Indian Ocean country, just a day after members of an elite army unit joined youth-led protests against the government and called for the president to step down.

President Andry Rajoelina鈥檚 office offered no details on who was behind the attempt and no signs of violence were immediately visible on the streets on Oct. 12, although there was a large military presence.

A commander of the elite CAPSAT unit, Col. Michael Randrianirina, denied any coup had taken place, but the unit claimed to have taken control of all of Madagascar鈥檚 armed forces and said it had installed a new leader of the military, Gen. Demosthene Pikulas.

鈥淲e responded to the people鈥檚 call,鈥� Mr. Randrianirina told reporters. Mr. Pikulas, who spoke alongside Mr. Randrianirina, declined to say if they had asked President Rajoelina to resign, but the CAPSAT army unit appeared to be in a position of authority.

Madagascar has been shaken by three weeks of the most significant unrest in years in the nation. The protests were led by a group calling itself 鈥淕en Z Madagascar,鈥� and the United Nations says the demonstrations have left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured. The government has disputed this number.

The whereabouts of the president were not immediately known on Oct. 12. His office said he 鈥渨ishes to inform the nation and the international community that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force鈥� has been 鈥渋nitiated.鈥�

鈥淚n view of the extreme gravity of this situation,鈥� the president鈥檚 office 鈥渟trongly condemns this attempt at destabilization and calls upon all forces of the nation to unite in defense of constitutional order and national sovereignty,鈥� it said.

CAPSAT is the same army unit that was pivotal in a 2009 military-backed coup that first brought Mr. Rajoelina to power as the head of a transitional government.

A turning point in these protests came Oct. 11 when soldiers from CAPSAT joined weekslong anti-government demonstrations and called for Mr. Rajoelina and government officials to step down.

The Oct. 11 protests were among the largest since the unrest began on Sept. 25 and Mr. Randrianirina said his troops had exchanged fire with security forces who were attempting to quell the protests and that one of his soldiers had been killed.

Speaking to crowds from an armored vehicle, Mr. Randrianirina said Oct.11 that Mr. Rajoelina, his new prime minister, the minister of the gendarmerie, and the commander of the gendarmerie 鈥渕ust leave power. That鈥檚 all.鈥�

鈥淒o we call this a coup? I don鈥檛 know yet,鈥� Mr. Randrianirina had said.

Madagascar, a large island of 31 million people off the east coast of Africa, has had several leaders removed in coups and has a history of political crises since it gained independence from France in 1960.

Mr. Rajoelina first came to prominence as the leader of a transitional government following a 2009 coup that forced then-President Marc Ravalomanana to flee the country and lose power. Mr. Rajoelina was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023 in a vote boycotted by opposition parties.

As the news of Mr. Rajoelina鈥檚 statement broke, the U.S. Embassy in Madagascar advised American citizens to shelter in place due to a 鈥渉ighly volatile and unpredictable鈥� situation. The African Union urged all parties, 鈥渂oth civilian and military, to exercise calm and restraint.鈥�

The youth-led protests first erupted last month over electricity and water outages but have snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with the government and the leadership of Mr. Rajoelina.

Protesters have brought up a range of issues, including poverty and the cost of living, access to tertiary education, and alleged corruption and embezzlement of public funds by government officials and their families and associates.

Civic groups and trade unions have joined the protests, which have resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in the capital, Antananarivo, and other major cities. The U.N. criticized the security forces for a 鈥渧iolent response鈥� in the early days of the protests that led to the deaths of largely peaceful protesters, it said.聽

Mr. Rajoelina attempted to appease the protesters by firing his entire government, including the prime minister, on Sept. 29. But the protesters have not relented.

The Gen Z protesters who inspired the uprising have mobilized over the internet and say they were inspired by other protests that toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.