Madagascar's coup leader is sworn in as president after a military
takeover condemned by UN
[October 17, 2025]
By GERALD IMRAY and NQOBILE NTSHANGASE
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — An army colonel who seized power in a
military coup was sworn in as Madagascar’s new leader Friday in a
lightning-fast power grab that ousted the president and sent him fleeing
from the country into hiding.
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’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 of around 30 million people off Africa’s east coast.
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’s former
colonial ruler, France.
The takeover — which came after three weeks of anti-government protests
by mainly young people — led to Madagascar being suspended from the
African Union.
President Andry Rajoelina's whereabouts are unknown after he left the
country claiming his life was in danger following the rebellion by
soldiers loyal to Randrianirina. 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.
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. He took his oath with ceremonial military guards
of honor on either side of the room.
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.
Madagascar has high rates of poverty, which affect around 75% of the
population, according to the World Bank. The former French colony also
has a tumultuous history of political instability since gaining
independence in 1960 that has included several coups and attempted
coups.
Rajoelina himself came to power as a transitional leader in 2009 after
the military-backed coup.
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.
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Col. Michael Randrianirina delivers his speech at the high
constitutional court after being sworn in as president in
Antananarivo, Madagascar, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Brian
Inganga)
The protests, which began last month, have echoed other Gen Z-led
uprisings 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.
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.
But there has been no major violence on the streets and
Randrianirina's troops have been cheered and their takeover
celebrated by Madagascans.
Randrianirina said in an interview with The Associated Press on
Wednesday that the military takeover was a move to “take
responsibility as citizens and patriots.”
“From 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,” he said in an interview at his
unit's barracks, where he announced his intention to take up the
position of president.
Rajoelina's 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's judges had
been threatened.
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the
unconstitutional change of government and called “for the return to
constitutional order and the rule of law,” his spokesperson,
Stéphane Dujarric, said. The African Union said it "totally rejects”
the takeover.
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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.
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