Overview
- An elite CAPSAT-led unit declared it had taken power after the lower house voted 130–1 to remove President Andry Rajoelina despite his decree to dissolve the chamber, which parliamentary leaders called invalid.
- Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced a governing council drawn from the army, gendarmerie and police, with plans to swear him in as transitional president during a formal court ceremony.
- The military said it suspended several state institutions while allowing the National Assembly to continue functioning and outlined a timetable targeting elections in roughly 18 to 24 months.
- Rajoelina said he fled to a “safe place” and did not resign; reports that he departed on a French military aircraft were circulated by media but remain unconfirmed by officials.
- The crisis followed youth-led protests over blackouts, water shortages and corruption that left at least 22 people dead according to the UN, and the African Union has suspended Madagascar with immediate effect.