Madagascarâs new military ruler will be sworn in as the countryâs president on Friday, the military said on Wednesday, as the African Union suspended the island nation after a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.
The Indian Ocean nation has been plunged into its worst political upheaval in years after the elite Capsat army unit assumed power on Tuesday, moments after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who appeared to have fled the country as street protests escalated.
It becomes the latest former French colony to fall under military control since 2020, after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon and Guinea.
Capsat commander Col Michael Randrianirina, confirmed as president by the top court, said on Wednesday that the transition to civilian leadership would take under two years and include the restructuring of major institutions.
âIt wasnât a coup, it was a case of taking responsibility because the country was on the brink of collapse,â he said, having pledged elections in 18 to 24 months and told local media that consultations were under way to appoint a prime minister and form a new government.
The transition would be overseen by a committee of officers from the army, gendarmerie and police.
Randrianirina âwill be sworn in as president of the refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar during a solemn hearing of the high constitutional courtâ on 17 October, the countryâs military rulers said in a statement, published on social media by a state television station.
Randrianirina has long been a vocal critic of Rajoelinaâs administration and was reportedly imprisoned for several months in 2023 for plotting a coup.
The swift takeover has drawn international concern. The African Union on Wednesday told AFP it was suspending Madagascar âwith immediate effectâ, while the UN said it was âdeeply concerned by the unconstitutional change of powerâ.
France said in a statement that it was âessential that democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law be scrupulously upheldâ.
A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said all actors needed to âact with caution in this currently somewhat confusing situationâ, while Russia called for âexercising restraint and preventing bloodshedâ.
The security body of regional SADC grouping â of which Rajoelina was holding the rotating presidency â also expressed concern.
The capital, Antananarivo, remained calm late on Wednesday, though uncertainty lingered over what might happen next.
A concert was held on the symbolic Place du 13 Mai square, in front of the city hall, where thousands of protesters and armed vehicles had clashed days earlier.
The youth-led Gen Z movement that initiated the protests on 25 September over lack of water and energy before they later swelled into broader anger at the political elite have welcomed the intervention of Randrianirina.
The colonel had said he was âready to talk to the youth and we are ready to answer the call,â Gen Z said in a post on Facebook, reiterating its calls for âsystemic changeâ.
âWeâre worried about what comes next, but weâre savouring this first victory that gave us hope,â 26-year-old Fenitra Razafindramanga, captain of Madagascarâs national rugby team, told AFP.
In the northern city of Antsiranana, an entrepreneur who identified herself only as Muriella was relieved that Rajoelina was no longer in power.
âIt feels like weâve just been released from prison,â she told AFP, adding: âThis is also a message to his successor: learn from this and donât make the same mistakes.â