Madagascar’s coup leader sworn in as new President

• Col. Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in a military coup, was sworn in as Madagascar’s new leader on October 17.

• Randrianirina, the commander of an elite army unit, took the oath of office to become the new President at a ceremony in the main chamber of the nation’s High Constitutional Court and in front of its nine red-robed judges.

• His ascent to the presidency came just three days after he announced that the armed forces were taking power in the sprawling Indian Ocean island.

• The takeover led to Madagascar being suspended from the African Union. 

• Thousands of young people in Madagascar initially took to the streets to denounce persistent water and power outages, inspired by similar “Gen Z” protests in Kenya, Nepal and elsewhere.

• An elite army unit known as CAPSAT seized power, hours after Parliament voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina.

• A three-time president, Rajoelina left the country between 11 and 12 October following the “Gen-Z protests”.

• The United Nations has condemned the military takeover as an unconstitutional change of government.

• It called for the immediate restoration of constitutional order following the ouster of President Andry Rajoelina.

• The military authorities have reportedly promised elections within two years.

• Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the country has experienced a series of similar crises.

• Beyond the political turmoil, Madagascar continues to grapple with overlapping humanitarian emergencies.

• Years of drought, cyclones and locust infestations have devastated crops, while a malaria outbreak has further strained the fragile health system.

• Nearly 29,000 people are already facing emergency levels of hunger in the Grand Sud region — a figure projected to rise to 110,000 by early 2026.