Madagascar's president says a coup is underway after soldiers joined
anti-government demonstrations
[October 13, 2025]
By SARAH TETAUD and GERALD IMRAY
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Madagascar's president said Sunday that
an attempted coup was underway in the Indian Ocean country, just a day
after members of an elite army unit joined youth-led protests against
the government and called for the president to step down.
President Andry Rajoelina’s office offered no details on who was behind
the attempt and no signs of violence were immediately visible on the
streets on Sunday, although there was a large military presence.
A commander of the elite CAPSAT unit, Col. Michael Randrianirina, denied
any coup had taken place, but the unit claimed to have taken control of
all of Madagascar's armed forces and said it had installed a new leader
of the military, Gen. Demosthene Pikulas.
“We responded to the people's call,” Randrianirina told reporters.
Pikulas, who spoke alongside Randrianirina, declined to say if they had
asked Rajoelina to resign, but the CAPSAT army unit appeared to be in a
position of authority.
Madagascar has been shaken by three weeks of the most significant unrest
in years in the nation. The protests were led by a group calling itself
“Gen Z Madagascar,” and the United Nations says the demonstrations have
left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured. The government has
disputed this number.
The whereabouts of the president were not immediately known on Sunday.
His office said he “wishes to inform the nation and the international
community that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” has
been “initiated.”
“In view of the extreme gravity of this situation,” the president’s
office “strongly condemns this attempt at destabilization and calls upon
all forces of the nation to unite in defense of constitutional order and
national sovereignty,” it said.
CAPSAT is the same army unit that was pivotal in a 2009 military-backed
coup that first brought Rajoelina to power as the head of a transitional
government.
A turning point in these protests came Saturday when soldiers from
CAPSAT joined weekslong anti-government demonstrations and called for
Rajoelina and government officials to step down.
Saturday's protests were among the largest since the unrest began on
Sept. 25 and Randrianirina said his troops had exchanged fire with
security forces who were attempting to quell the protests and that one
of his soldiers had been killed.
Speaking to crowds from an armored vehicle, Randrianirina said Saturday
that Rajoelina, his new prime minister, the minister of the gendarmerie
and the commander of the gendarmerie “must leave power. That's all.”
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Soldiers are greeted by people gathering for a ceremony in tribute
to demonstrators killed during recent anti-government protest in
Antananarivo, Madagascar, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mamyrael)
"Do we call this a coup? I don’t know yet,” Randrianirina had said.
Madagascar, a large island of 31 million people off the east coast
of Africa, has had several leaders removed in coups and has a
history of political crises since it gained independence from France
in 1960.
The 51-year-old Rajoelina first came to prominence as the leader of
a transitional government following a 2009 coup that forced
then-President Marc Ravalomanana to flee the country and lose power.
Rajoelina was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023 in a
vote boycotted by opposition parties.
As the news of Rajoelina’s statement broke, the U.S. Embassy in
Madagascar advised American citizens to shelter-in-place due to a
“highly volatile and unpredictable” situation. The African Union
urged all parties, “both civilian and military, to exercise calm and
restraint.”
The youth-led protests first erupted last month over electricity and
water outages but have snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with
the government and the leadership of Rajoelina.
Protesters have brought up a range of issues, including poverty and
the cost of living, access to tertiary education, and alleged
corruption and embezzlement of public funds by government officials
and their families and associates.
Civic groups and trade unions have joined the protests, which have
resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in the capital,
Antananarivo, and other major cities. The U.N. criticized the
security forces for a “violent response” in the early days of the
protests that led to the deaths of largely peaceful protesters, it
said.
Rajoelina attempted to appease the protesters by firing his entire
government, including the prime minister, on Sept. 29. But the
protesters have not relented.
The Gen Z protesters who inspired the uprising have mobilized over
the internet and say they were inspired by other protests that
toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.
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