AU Suspends Madagascar As Military Seizes Power After President’s Removal 

The African Union has suspended Madagascar “with immediate effect” following a coup in which an elite army unit seized power after President Andry Rajoelina was impeached.

The suspension came as Col. Michael Randrianirina, leader of a recent military rebellion, declared himself president and said the armed forces would govern the country for up to two years before elections are held.

Randrianirina, who led soldiers in ousting President Andry Rajoelina, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he expects to be sworn in as the Indian Ocean country’s new leader within days.

“There must be an oath-taking to make his position official,” he said at his unit’s barracks, flanked by fellow officers. “We are staying here for at least 18 months, at most two years.”

The takeover followed weeks of protests by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar,” who demanded better governance and more opportunities in a nation grappling with deep poverty.

Randrianirina said he assumed the role after the country’s High Constitutional Court invited him to do so in Rajoelina’s absence, as the president fled Madagascar during the uprising.

“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.

He added that the military leadership was “accelerating” the appointment of a new prime minister “so that the crisis in the country does not last forever,” but did not provide a timeline.

The military has dissolved all institutions except the lower house of parliament. A committee led by the armed forces will govern alongside a transitional government for a period of up to two years before organising elections.

Rajoelina, president since 2018, said he fled to a safe location fearing for his life and condemned the military takeover as an illegal coup attempt.

Randrianirina, who became a vocal critic of Rajoelina in recent years, had been arrested in November 2023 for allegedly instigating an army mutiny and released in February 2024 with a suspended sentence.

The African Union said Madagascar is suspended from its bodies “until constitutional order is restored in the country.”