The African Union’s Peace and Security Council suspended Madagascar from the bloc with immediate effect on Wednesday, condemning the military seizure of power that removed President Andry Rajoelina and rejecting what it called an unconstitutional change of government. The council demanded a civilian transitional government and free elections, and warned that sanctions could follow against those involved in the takeover.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, commander of the elite CAPSAT unit, took power on Tuesday moments after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who had fled the country over the weekend as youth led protests over water and power cuts, corruption and economic hardship filled the capital. The High Constitutional Court confirmed Randrianirina as head of state and he is to be sworn in at a solemn hearing on Friday, at the head of a Presidential Council for the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar.
Randrianirina has pledged elections within 18 to 24 months and says consultations are under way to appoint a prime minister and form a government. Rajoelina, from abroad, called his removal null and void. The takeover makes Madagascar the latest in a run of African states to fall under military rule since 2020, and the AU’s suspension, which follows its standing practice after coups, cuts the new authorities off from the bloc’s organs until constitutional order is restored.