Thousands of young protesters have celebrated the ousting of Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina, who fled the country after the military sided with demonstrators. The jubilant scenes in Antananarivo's Place du 13 Mai mask concerns about the army's intentions following the takeover by an elite unit.
The protests began on 25 September, initially against water and power cuts, before escalating into demands for a complete political overhaul. On 11 October, the elite military unit Capsat escorted protesters to the symbolic square, and the next day Rajoelina reportedly left for Dubai on a French military plane. On Friday, Capsat commander Colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as transitional president for 18 to 24 months.
Young activists, rallying as 'Gen Z Madagascar', expressed gratitude to Capsat but also worry about transitioning to military rule. 'The protests are not finished and we must be vigilant,' said Antonio, a 17-year-old protester. 'I thanked them for helping us to come here... Without them we wouldn't have made it here. But it was Gen Z who gave us the victory.'
Madagascar, an island of 32 million people off Africa's southeast coast, is extremely poor and plagued by corruption. Its GDP per capita was just $545 last year, making it the fifth poorest country globally. Rajoelina, a former DJ who first came to power in a 2009 coup backed by Capsat, returned to the presidency in 2019 and 2023 elections boycotted by the opposition.
The leaderless Gen Z Madagascar movement formed online, coordinating on Discord and Signal, inspired by similar youth-led protests in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Nepal. With over half the population under 20, young people were primed to revolt after two councillors were arrested in September for organising protests over water and electricity outages.
