Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has announced the dissolution of his government after days of youth-led demonstrations over chronic water shortages and electricity blackouts.
In a televised address, Rajoelina apologised for his administration’s failures, saying:
“We acknowledge and apologise if members of the government have not carried out the tasks assigned to them.”
The so-called Gen-Z protests erupted last Thursday in Antananarivo before spreading to at least eight other cities, drawing thousands of mostly young people chanting: “We want to live, not survive.”
According to the UN, at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the unrest, which has been met with a heavy-handed security response. The government disputes those figures, dismissing them as “rumours or misinformation.”
Witnesses reported police firing rubber bullets and tear gas, while the UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk accused security forces of also using live ammunition and arbitrary arrests. He urged authorities to release detainees and “desist from unnecessary and disproportionate force.”
The unrest comes after the president last week dismissed his energy minister, blaming him for failing to tackle the power crisis. But protesters are demanding a complete overhaul of the leadership, including Rajoelina’s resignation.
On Monday, the president said he had dismissed both the prime minister and his cabinet, inviting applications for a new government within three days.
Ministers will remain in place on an interim basis until replacements are appointed.
He also offered to open talks with young people acknowledging their anger over worsening living conditions.
While most demonstrations have been peaceful reports suggest some legislators’ homes were attacked.
Protest organisers insist infiltrators were responsible for looting and violence aimed at discrediting their movement.
Madagascar has a long history of political instability.
Rajoelina himself first rose to power during a wave of protests in 2009 that toppled then-president Marc Ravalomanana.
The latest unrest poses the most serious challenge to his rule since winning a third term in 2023.
One banner carried by demonstrators summed up the mood: “We don’t want trouble; we just want our rights.”
