The president of the African island nation of Madagascar dissolved his government on Monday in response to days of fiery youth-led protests that the United Nations says have claimed nearly two dozen lives and injured dozens more.
In a nationally televised address, the president, Andry Rajoelina, acknowledged the outrage of the thousands of young people who have taken to the streets over the past week to denounce the government’s failure to provide stable electricity and water.
“I understand the anger, the sadness and the difficulties caused by power cuts and water supply problems,” he said, according to Reuters. “I heard the call, I felt the suffering, I understood the impact on daily life.”
The government dissolution means that Mr. Rajoelina, who was elected in 2023 to a third term in office, has fired Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and all the cabinet ministers. Those officials will serve on an interim basis until the president appoints a new prime minister.
Mr. Rajoelina said that he would cast a wide net to find new officials to lead the country, even accepting applications through email and on LinkedIn.
It is unclear whether Mr. Rajoelina’s move will be enough to satisfy the protesters, who have drawn inspiration from Gen Z demonstrations that erupted recently in Nepal and Kenya. A growing chorus of protesters in Madagascar have been calling for the president’s resignation.
Mr. Rajoelina first came to power through a coup in 2009. He lost power after the 2013 election, and then won office again in 2018 and 2023. Many of Mr. Rajoelina’s opponents boycotted the election two years ago, accusing him of manipulating the race in his favor by using state security forces to intimidate voters and stacking the national election commission with his allies.
The lead-up to the election was marred by violent clashes between the security forces and citizens, drawing concern from the international community. Mr. Rajoelina denied any wrongdoing.
This latest round of unrest has drawn scrutiny from the United Nations. In a statement on Monday, Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, expressed “shock at the violent response by security forces to the ongoing protests,” saying that at least 22 people had been killed and more than a hundred injured.
“The authorities must ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” the statement said.
Officials in Madagascar pushed back on the U.N. death toll figures, saying that they were based on rumors and not confirmed by the government.
Since gaining independence from France in 1960, Madagascar, a country of nearly 32 million people, has struggled with political instability. The mostly poor population has seen its fate grow even grimmer in recent years from a series of weather-related shocks that hurt agricultural production, the country’s main economic driver.
John Eligon is the Johannesburg bureau chief for The Times, covering a wide range of events and trends that influence and shape the lives of ordinary people across southern Africa.
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