Antananarivo – Madagascar’s leader, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, has sacked his prime minister and dissolved the cabinet he appointed soon after seizing power following youth-led protests five months ago.
Randrianirina “announces that, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the government is suspended from its duties,” the presidency said in a statement Monday.
A new prime minister will be appointed “shortly”, it said, without providing a timeline or a reason for the dismissal.
Demonstrations against water and power shortages in September last year snowballed into a protest movement that the government failed to stop with a crackdown that left people dead and injured.
When the colonel’s army unit mutinied and joined the protesters from the “Gen Z” movement, Rajoelina fled the Indian Ocean island with the help of France.
Randrianirina has denied staging a coup, insisting the Constitutional Court “transferred power” to him, and has pledged a two‑year transition, according to a roadmap released at the end of February.
A surprise
His choice of cabinet — which included well-known figures from Madagascar’s fraught political landscape — had already raised eyebrows, with concerns its agenda would remain far from the aspirations for radical change expressed by the young demonstrators.
But Monday’s dismissal of the government came as “a surprise”, said Elliot Randriamandrato, spokesperson for the “Gen Z” collective.
“It’s true that we didn’t like the choice of prime minister at first, but they showed an openness that made us think we could move forward,” he told AFP.
While a reshuffle had not seemed necessary, the change could be “an opportunity to push for people who could take up our demands”, Randriamandrato said.
The group was not reassured by recent developments including the release of the transition roadmap without its consultation and signs of “militarisation” in the regime, he said.
“There are faint signs that … perhaps we are drifting towards something that does not follow the demands” of last year’s protests, he said.
New elections
The transition plan sets out wide-ranging consultations until the end of 2026, the drafting of a new constitution and presidential elections due in late 2027.
Elections for the capital’s new mayor, a key position in Madagascar’s politics, are expected before then, after the top administrative court annulled on Monday results of the 2024 vote.
The election had been won by an ally of the ousted president but her rival claimed electoral fraud.
Randrianirina has moved swiftly to court diplomatic alliances, declaring a “new era of cooperation” with Russia during a visit to Moscow last month where he was received by President Vladimir Putin.
Days later in Paris, he and President Emmanuel Macron announced a “renewed” and “balanced” partnership with France, the former colonial power.
Picture: X/@KennedyWandera_
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Source: AFP
