From Prison to Presidency: Military Colonel Seizes Power in Madagascar

Colonel Michael Randrianirina sworn in as president following youth-led uprising and lightning-fast coup

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — An army colonel who seized power in a military coup was sworn in as Madagascar’s new president on Friday in a lightning-fast takeover that sent the former leader fleeing into hiding and plunged the Indian Ocean island nation into its third military transition since independence.

Colonel Michael Randrianirina, commander of the elite CAPSAT military unit, took the oath of office at a ceremony in the main chamber of the nation’s High Constitutional Court, just three days after announcing that the armed forces were taking control of the country of approximately 30 million people.

The swift power grab came after three weeks of increasingly violent anti-government protests led primarily by young demonstrators calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar.” The United Nations reported that at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured during the demonstrations, which initially focused on chronic water and electricity shortages before expanding to encompass broader grievances about poverty, corruption, and government accountability.

A Coup Built on Popular Discontent

The protests reached a turning point last weekend when Randrianirina and soldiers from his unit publicly sided with demonstrators calling for President Andry Rajoelina to resign. In a dramatic announcement at the country’s military headquarters, the colonel declared that the army had “responded to the people’s calls,” though he denied characterizing the takeover as a coup.

When soldiers from his unit announced they would “refuse orders to shoot” at protesters, the momentum shifted decisively. Demonstrators cheered Randrianirina and other soldiers as they triumphantly rode through the streets of the capital, Antananarivo. By Tuesday, the National Assembly had voted to impeach the absent Rajoelina for desertion of duty, paving the way for Randrianirina’s ascension.

President Rajoelina fled the country between October 11 and 12, claiming he faced “explicit and extremely serious threats” against his life. Reports indicate he was evacuated on a French military aircraft, first to the island of Réunion and then to an undisclosed location, possibly Dubai. From his hiding place, Rajoelina has refused to renounce his position, denounced the takeover as illegal, and called for dialogue and respect for the constitution.

The Man Behind the Coup

Randrianirina emerged from relative obscurity to lead the rebellion, though his opposition to Rajoelina’s administration was not new. He had long been a vocal critic of the government and was briefly imprisoned for several months in 2023 for allegedly plotting a coup. He said he spent most of the three months he was detained at a military hospital.

The CAPSAT unit under Randrianirina’s command holds particular significance in Madagascar’s political history. It was the same military unit that aided Rajoelina’s own rise to power in 2009, when the then-young mayor of Antananarivo led protests that resulted in a military-backed coup against President Marc Ravalomanana.

In announcing the military takeover, Randrianirina said his forces had dissolved all government institutions except the lower house of parliament. He told reporters that a committee led by the military would rule the country for up to two years alongside a transitional government before organizing new elections. He has promised that it is “up to the Madagascan people to decide what happens next.”

A Nation’s Frustrations Boil Over

The protests that catalyzed the coup began on September 25 while Rajoelina was attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. What started as demonstrations against repeated water and power outages quickly evolved into a broader movement encompassing widespread frustrations.

The demonstrators raised concerns about the crushing cost of living, limited access to higher education, alleged corruption and embezzlement of public funds by government officials and their families, and the country’s persistent poverty. According to the World Bank, approximately 75 to 80 percent of Madagascar’s roughly 32 million people live in poverty, making it one of the poorest countries in the world despite its abundance of natural resources and rich biodiversity.

Civic groups and trade unions joined the Gen Z movement, which drew inspiration from recent youth-led uprisings that have challenged governments in Kenya, Indonesia, Peru, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The Madagascar movement adopted the rallying cry “We don’t want power, we want light,” highlighting the immediate infrastructure failures that sparked the initial protests.

International Condemnation and Isolation

The military takeover has drawn swift international condemnation. The United Nations condemned it as an unconstitutional change of government, while the African Union suspended Madagascar from the bloc with immediate effect and called for the restoration of civilian-led governance and elections.

The AU’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emphasized that “the mobilization of Madagascar’s youth must be fully heard to build a sustainable, peaceful and calm solution.” Regional SADC bloc officials announced they would send fact-finding missions to the island.

Madagascar now joins a growing list of former French colonies that have fallen under military control since 2020, following coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon, and Guinea. It marks the third time a Malagasy head of state has left the country after being ousted, following Didier Ratsiraka’s flight to France in 2002 and Marc Ravalomanana’s departure to South Africa in 2009.

The Fall of Rajoelina

For Andry Rajoelina, the military uprising represented a bitter irony. In 2009, he was a young, populist mayor who led protests against the government with messages of transparency, infrastructure development, and economic reform that resonated with Madagascar’s disenfranchised youth. His anti-establishment party enjoyed public support that, combined with military backing, propelled him to high office at just 34 years old.

After serving as transitional president from 2009 to 2014 amid international isolation and sanctions, he returned to win the presidency through elections in 2018 and again in 2023, though the latter was boycotted by opposition parties and 10 of his 13 opponents.

Critics say Rajoelina failed to better the lives of his countrymen during his tenure. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he controversially promoted an herbal tonic he claimed would cure the illness, distributing it in schools despite warnings from the World Health Organization against scientifically unproven remedies.

In 2025, the same military unit that helped install him turned against him, responding to the protests of the very demographic—frustrated youth—that had once been his base. His former prime minister and one of his closest advisers also fled the country, arriving in Mauritius in the predawn hours after the coup.

An Uncertain Future

As Madagascar enters yet another period of military rule in its tumultuous post-independence history, questions abound about what comes next. The country has experienced several coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1960, creating a pattern of political instability that has hindered development.

Randrianirina inherits a nation beset by crushing poverty, failing infrastructure, and deep frustration among its young population. Whether his promises of a two-year transition to democracy will materialize, and whether he can address the fundamental grievances that sparked the uprising, remains to be seen.

For now, the streets of Antananarivo have seen both celebration and apprehension. The youth protesters who demanded change have achieved the removal of a president they viewed as failing them. But they’ve also ushered in military rule—and history suggests that once soldiers take power in Madagascar, establishing stable civilian governance proves no simple task.

As Randrianirina took his oath on Friday, he became the latest in a long line of leaders to promise a better future for Madagascar. The question hanging over the Indian Ocean island is whether this time will be any different.