Spanish
The elite military unit CAPSAT (Army Corps of Administrative and Technical Personnel and Services) took power in Madagascar, after the removal of President Andry Rajoelina, who was evacuated from the African country on a French plane amid the rebellion.
"We take power from today," stated the head of CAPSAT, Michael Randrianirina, in a speech before the presidential palace. The high military command announced the dissolution of the Senate, the High Constitutional Court, and other governmental institutions, but declared that the National Assembly, the Lower House of Parliament, will continue to function.
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Meanwhile, this Tuesday the National Assembly voted to remove Rajoelina, who, for his part, tried to dissolve the Chamber in an attempt to stop the vote.
Coup d'état
Since September 25, thousands of citizens of Madagascar, mostly young people, took to the streets to demand an end to water and electricity cuts and denounce a system plagued by corruption and impunity, concentrating for the first time last Saturday in the 13th of May square of the capital, Antananarivo.
The protests, initiated by a self-proclaimed group Gen Z Madagascar, turned into a snowball of discontent against the Government and the leadership of Rajoelina, whom they accuse, among other things, of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. On Saturday, after the Police tried to disperse the protests in the 13th of May square with stun grenades and tear gas, soldiers from CAPSAT joined the protesters. On Sunday, the Presidency warned of an attempted coup led by members of CAPSAT, a unit that in 2009 helped Rajoelina come to power. In the midst of chaos, former Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and businessman Mamy Ravatomanga, a close ally of Rajoelina, left the country for Mauritius in a private jet, according to local reports. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 people gathered in the symbolic 13th of May square in Antananarivo to celebrate the arrival of the CAPSAT troops, who were received with cheers and flags.
