Madagascar’s former president, Andry Rajoelina, has been ousted from power in a military coup following weeks of nationwide protests. Youth-led demonstrations began at the end of September over water and power cuts despite facing violence from security forces. After weeks of protests, coup leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina has seized power and installed a new government. 

The protesters began organizing through an online movement, titled “Gen Z Madagascar”, and its Facebook page quickly gathered over 100,000 followers. The movement was inspired by other youth-led anti-government movements, including recent protests in Nepal. Thousands joined the nationwide protests, which began on September 25th to address chronic water and power outages in the country, as well as broader structural issues such as corruption and poverty.

Despite being resource rich, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world; according to the World Bank, around 80 percent of its population of 32 million is living below the poverty line. Police responded to the protests with a violent crackdown, using tear gas to disperse protesters marching in the capital, footage from Real TV Madagasikara showed. The U.N. human rights office reported in early October that at least 22 people had been killed and hundreds injured by security forces. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk called on authorities “to ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, consistent with their obligations under international human rights law.”

Rajoelina first came to power as a transitional leader in a 2009 military coup, and was elected president in 2018 and 2023. He refused to step down, dissolving his government in order to appease protesters and later calling for talks with protesters and civic groups. The Gen Z Madagascar group responded in a statement: “We do not reach out to a regime that every day crushes those who stand up for justice. This government talks about dialogue but rules with weapons.”

Units of the Madagascar Armed Forces rebelled and joined protests, and on October 14th, the military announced its takeover of the government. Rajoelina fled the country, and even with his decree to dissolve parliament, lawmakers voted to impeach the former president. Coup leader Col. Michael Randrianirina, a long-time critic of Rajoelina, told the Associated Press he is “taking the position of president”, and said that a military council will be in place for at least 18 months before elections are held.

The United Nations and African Union have condemned the coup, and Madagascar’s membership in the A.U. has been suspended. The protests in Madagascar have demonstrated the power of youth-led organizing and resistance, however, there are concerns that the coup will overshadow the aims and efforts of the protesters. The Gen Z Mada has been critical of the new government. Following the appointment of Madagascar’s new prime minister, businessman Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, Gen Z Mada released a statement on Facebook saying that the appointment was made in a “non-transparent” manner without “consultation”. The group said that the decision “runs contrary to the desired structural change” of the movement, and that it would continue to monitor the new administration, concluding, “We will not allow the failed methods of the past to continue in a new form.”