{"id":310745,"date":"2025-10-17T12:55:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T12:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/310745\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T12:55:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T12:55:18","slug":"madagascar-coup-leader-sworn-in-as-president-after-military-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/310745\/","title":{"rendered":"Madagascar coup leader sworn in as president after military takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) \u2014 An army colonel who seized power in a military coup<\/a> was sworn in as Madagascar\u2019s new leader Friday in a lightning-fast power grab that ousted the president and sent him fleeing from the country into hiding.<\/p>\n

Col. Michael 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\u2019s High Constitutional Court and in front of its nine red-robed judges.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"CAPSAT<\/p>\n

CAPSAT military unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina waits to be sworn in as President in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo\/Brian Inganga)<\/p>\n

CAPSAT military unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina waits to be sworn in as President in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo\/Brian Inganga)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

His ascent to the presidency came just three days after he announced that the armed forces were taking power<\/a> in Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island of around 30 million people off Africa\u2019s east coast that had been rocked by three weeks of youth-led anti-government protests.<\/a><\/p>\n

The United Nations has condemned the military takeover as an unconstitutional change of government but there has been little significant reaction from other countries, including Madagascar\u2019s former colonial ruler, France.<\/p>\n

The takeover led to Madagascar being suspended from the African Union. <\/p>\n

Madagascar has high rates of poverty, which affect around 75% of the population, according to the World Bank. The former French colony, widely known as the world\u2019s largest vanilla provider and home to the stripey-tailed primates called lemurs, has a tumultuous history of political instability. <\/p>\n

The country has seen several coups and attempted coups since gaining independence in 1960.<\/p>\n

President Andry Rajoelina\u2019s whereabouts are unknown after he left the country claiming his life was in danger following the rebellion. He reportedly escaped on a French military plane. In his absence, Rajoelina was impeached in a vote in parliament on Tuesday, right before the colonel announced the military was taking power.<\/p>\n

Randrianirina, who is believed to be 50 or 51 years old, swapped his military camouflage for a dark suit and blue tie for the swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by military officers, civilian officials and foreign diplomats. Military guards of honor on either side of the room drew ceremonial swords to mark the moment, and a line of soldiers blew trumpets.<\/p>\n

The colonel, who emerged from relative obscurity to lead the rebellion by his CAPSAT military unit less than a week ago, was briefly imprisoned two years ago for an attempted mutiny. He said he spent most of the three months he was detained in late 2023 and early 2024 at a military hospital.<\/p>\n

Rajoelina himself came to power as a transitional leader in 2009 after a military-backed coup.<\/p>\n

Randrianirina has said Madagascar will be run by a military council with him as president for between 18 months and two years before any new elections, meaning the young people who inspired the uprising against Rajoelina may have a long wait before they are able to choose their new leader.<\/p>\n

\"Troops<\/p>\n

\n Troops loyal to CAPSAT military unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina make their way to the presidency to announce that the armed forces are taking control of the country in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/ Brian Inganga)\n <\/p>\n

Troops loyal to CAPSAT military unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina make their way to the presidency to announce that the armed forces are taking control of the country in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/ Brian Inganga)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

\"Troops<\/p>\n

\n Troops loyal to CAPSAT military unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina sit in a military truck in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo\/Brian Inganga)\n <\/p>\n

Troops loyal to CAPSAT military unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina sit in a military truck in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo\/Brian Inganga)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The protests, which began last month, have echoed other Gen Z-led uprisings<\/a> in Nepal, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Young Madagascans first took to the streets last month to rail against regular water and power outages, but have raised other issues, including the cost of living, the lack of opportunities and alleged corruption and nepotism by the elite.<\/p>\n

Randrianirina seized on the momentum last weekend by turning against Rajoelina and joining the anti-government protests that called for the president and government ministers to step down. There was a brief clash between his soldiers and members of the gendarmerie security forces still loyal to Rajoelina, during which one CAPSAT soldier was killed, the colonel said.<\/p>\n

But there has been no major violence on the streets and Randrianirina\u2019s troops have been cheered and their takeover celebrated by Madagascans.<\/p>\n

Randrianirina said in an interview with The Associated Press<\/a> on Wednesday that the military takeover was a move to \u201ctake responsibility as citizens and patriots\u201d to save \u201ca dying country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom now on, we will restore the country to its former glory, fight against insecurity, and gradually try to solve the social problems that Malagasy people experience,\u201d he said in an interview at his unit\u2019s barracks, where he announced his intention to take up the position of president.<\/p>\n

Rajoelina\u2019s office has said a move earlier this week by the High Constitutional Court to invite Randrianirina to become the new president was flawed and claimed that some of the court\u2019s judges had been threatened.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> condemned the unconstitutional change of government and called \u201cfor the return to constitutional order and the rule of law,\u201d his spokesperson, St\u00e9phane Dujarric, said. The African Union said it \u201ctotally rejects\u201d the takeover.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Col.<\/p>\n

Col. Michael Randrianirina arrives at the high constitutional court to be sworn in as President in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo\/ Brian Inganga)<\/p>\n

Col. Michael Randrianirina arrives at the high constitutional court to be sworn in as President in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo\/ Brian Inganga)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

More AP news on Madagascar: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/madagascar<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) \u2014 An army colonel who seized power in a military coup was sworn in as…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":310746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[156925,139850,36676,3881,15124,356,90,57,38571,151720,50,402,87829,1206,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-310745","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-african-union","9":"tag-andry-rajoelina","10":"tag-antonio-guterres","11":"tag-ap-top-news","12":"tag-coups-detat","13":"tag-courts","14":"tag-elections","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-madagascar","17":"tag-michael-randrianirina","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-protests-and-demonstrations","20":"tag-stphane-dujarric","21":"tag-united-nations","22":"tag-world","23":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115389617804016202","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}