The African Union (AU) has suspended Madagascar following a military takeover that removed President Andry Rajoelina from power, deepening political uncertainty in the Indian Ocean nation.
Army colonel Michael Randrianirina, who now leads the country, said on Wednesday he would soon be sworn in as president after the constitutional court invited him to assume the role. The announcement came just hours after the AU condemned the coup and froze Madagascar’s membership with immediate effect.
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Rajoelina, who fled the country over the weekend amid mounting street protests and military defections, has rejected his impeachment by lawmakers and denounced the military’s seizure of power. “My so-called removal is null and void,” he said in a statement issued from abroad.
Weeks of youth-led demonstrations, dubbed the “Gen Z protests,” had shaken the capital, Antananarivo, with thousands demanding Rajoelina’s resignation over corruption allegations and economic hardship.
The unrest escalated when units of the army joined the protesters, refusing orders to suppress the demonstrations.
Read also: Madagascar plunges into chaos as Gen Z uprising drives president into hiding
By Tuesday, the military announced it had dissolved all state institutions except the lower house of parliament, which had voted to impeach Rajoelina. Randrianirina, the commander of the elite army unit CAPSAT, said the intervention was necessary “to restore order” and promised a transition lasting up to two years before new elections.
“We took responsibility yesterday,” Randrianirina told journalists. “We will be sworn in soon.”
au condemns ‘unconstitutional change’
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council described the events in Madagascar as an “unconstitutional change of government,” a move that automatically triggers suspension under AU rules.
According to a Reuters report, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the AU Commission, said the bloc maintained “an unwavering respect for constitutional order and peaceful resolution of disputes.”
“The rule of law must prevail over the rule of force,” Youssouf said during a council session in Addis Ababa. “Our approach is grounded in law and dialogue.”
Read also: Madagascar faces military mutiny as elite soldiers turn against president
The AU suspension carries significant diplomatic weight and could further isolate Madagascar’s new leadership from international partners and regional bodies.
Randrianirina’s rise to power has drawn comparisons to 2009, when a younger Rajoelina, then backed by the same elite CAPSAT unit, came to power through a coup that ousted Marc Ravalomanana.
This time, the tables have turned. Randrianirina, once Rajoelina’s ally, broke ranks last week, calling on the army not to fire on demonstrators.
