After Military Power Grab, Army Colonel Becomes Madagascar's President

Army colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as Madagascar's president on Friday, just days after a military power grab that sent ex-president Andry Rajoelina fleeing and raised international alarm about a new coup on the island.

Randrianirina led the CAPSAT army unit, which mutinied and joined anti-government protesters before announcing Tuesday that the military had taken power, after Rajoelina was impeached for desertion of duty.

"Today marks a historic turning point for our country," Randrianirina said after his swearing-in ceremony, where the 51-year-old colonel swapped his army uniform for a suit.

He vowed sweeping reforms for the impoverished island nation, where anger over chronic power cuts sparked protests last month that soon escalated into a mass movement.

"We will work hand in hand with all the driving forces of the nation to draft a fine constitution... and to agree on new electoral laws for the organisation of elections and referendums," Randrianirina said.

"Our main mission is to thoroughly reform the country's administrative, socio-economic and political systems of governance."

He thanked the country's youth for spearheading the protests that ousted Rajoelina, and said the army had intervened at the request of the top court to "avoid anarchy and disorder".

The ceremony in the capital Antananarivo was attended by military officers, politicians, representatives of the Gen Z youth-led protest movement and several foreign delegations, including from the United States, the European Union, Russia and former colonial ruler France.

A few dozen people gathered outside the constitutional court on Friday morning in hopes of seeing the new president.

"We're happy to be able to hope for change," said shopkeeper Faniry Randrianaridoa.

"We hope, but we'll see," she told AFP. "It's not a whim to want water and electricity."

Facing international criticism, Randrianirina has been eager to officialise his new role and insisted the takeover was not a coup, pointing to the constitutional court's backing.

At his swearing-in, the new leader addressed the foreign delegations in French, inviting them to "accompany Madagascar in the process of steering and implementing national renewal".

Local media reported that Randrianirina had already met with a Russian delegation on Thursday.

The international community's "large presence here shows that they respect national sovereignty", he told journalists.

The new president said the youth would be "consulted before the new government is appointed".

Ex-President In Hiding

Rajoelina's supporters have condemned the constitutional court's support of the CAPSAT commander as riddled with procedural illegalities that risked destabilising the country.

They insist that Rajoelina remains the leader and is working to find solutions to the problems dogging the country.

Government forces were accused of a harsh crackdown on the protesters, with many reported dead or wounded, until CAPSAT announced on October 11 that it would refuse orders to shoot at them.

It marked a turning point in the uprising, with the unit hailed by the protest movement -- which now expects a role in the new set-up.

Rajoelina's office confirmed in a statement late Wednesday that he had fled the country the same weekend CAPSAT stood behind the protesters, saying he feared for his life. He has not revealed his whereabouts.

Media reports said the 51-year-old was evacuated on Sunday aboard a French military plane that took him to the French island of Reunion, from where he travelled to Dubai.

The power grab was the third military transition in Madagascar since independence in 1960, following coups in 1972 and 2009.

The Indian Ocean island is the latest of several former French colonies in Africa to come under military control since 2020, after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon and Guinea.

The country, off Mozambique, is one of the poorest in the world, despite an abundance of natural resources and rich biodiversity.

About 80 per cent of the population of 32 million people live in poverty, according to the World Bank's benchmark.

The African Union and regional bloc SADC said they would send fact-finding missions to the island, and called for constitutional democracy to be upheld.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)