Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina today said that he had dissolved the lower house of parliament. The move escalated a standoff with youth-led protesters and the military that forced him to flee the island. A presidency decree said, the 51-year-old Rajoelina had consulted with the leaders of the National Assembly and the upper house Senate, but the legality of his gambit was unclear. In a defiant address from an undisclosed location last evening, Rajoelina refused to step down despite weeks of Gen Z protests demanding his resignation and widespread defections in the army.
Rajoelina said he had been forced to move to a safe place because of threats to his life. In a social media post, Rajoelina said the decision to dissolve the national assembly was necessary to restore order in Madagascar. He added that it will pave the way for new elections to be held in 60 days at the earliest. However, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly disputed it.
The opposition has been trying to gather enough signatures to launch impeachment proceedings against Rajoelina in parliament, where the ruling coalition commands a majority. Demonstrations erupted in the country on September 25 over water and power shortages and quickly escalated into an uprising over broader grievances, including corruption, bad governance and a lack of basic services.
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