Madagascar coup leader Randrianirina set to be sworn in as president

Madagascar's military coup leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina said Wednesday he will serve as president for up to two years before holding elections, as the African Union suspended the Indian Ocean island nation following President Andry Rajoelina's overthrow.

In his first interview since Rajoelina's ouster, Randrianirina said “there must be an oath-taking” in the next few days to make his position official. Flanked by fellow officers, Randrianirina said at his unit’s barracks that they were "staying here for at least 18 months, at most two years."

Randrianirina, who led the coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina two days earlier, "will be sworn in as president of the refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar during a solemn hearing of the High Constitutional Court" on Friday, according to a government statement published Thursday.

Rajoelina, who was impeached by MPs after escaping overseas over the weekend, has denounced the coup and refuses to quit despite large-scale defections by security forces, while the African Union (AU) has announced the country’s suspension from the continental bloc.

In a statement, AU Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf stated that the suspension was effective immediately and that "the rule of law must prevail over the rule of force."

The military takeover capped weeks of protests against his government, led by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar”.

The protesters, who also included labour unions and civic groups, have demanded better government and job opportunities, echoing youth-led protests elsewhere in the world.

The demonstrations have also focused on a number of issues, including poverty, which the World Bank estimates affects almost three out of four Madagascans, who have limited access to higher education and continue to experience water and energy outages.

In the streets of the capital Antananarivo on Tuesday, demonstrators applauded Randrianirina and other soldiers from his elite CAPSAT unit.

The mass protests had reached a turning point last Saturday when Randrianirina and soldiers from his unit sided with the demonstrators, calling for the president to resign.

For Randrianirina, this was about acting on behalf of the people and restoring the country.

“We had to take responsibility yesterday because there is nothing left in the country, no president, no president in the senate, no government,” Randrianirina said.

The colonel said the military leadership was “accelerating” the appointment of a new prime minister so that the crisis in the country does not last forever.” He didn’t give an exact time frame for that to happen.

Rajoelina has said he fled to an undisclosed country because he feared for his life. He first came to power as a transitional leader following a 2009 military coup, then was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023.

He fired his government last month in an attempt to appease the protesters after a crackdown by security forces left 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to the United Nations, figures that Rajoelina’s government disputes.