Days after a military takeover following weeks of protests, Colonel Michael Randrianirina has been sworn in as the new president of Madagascar, replacing Andry Rajoelina.
Rajoelina fled the country and was later impeached after weeks of youth-led protests demanding greater accountability from his government.
The new president was sworn in at the Constitutional Court in the capital, Antananarivo, where a large crowd gathered to watch, including those who led the protests.
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Madagascar now enters a transition period, which is sure to come with political obstacles and legal uncertainty. Nonetheless, reports indicate some locals are optimistic about Col Randrianirina’s leadership.
Constitutional Court president Florent Rakotoarisoa has criticised the international community for deeming the takeover in Madagascar as a coup.
To him, there was no violation of the constitution in Madagascar, and he rather blamed the constitution for leading the situation to worsen.
Protesters had a democratic objective in mind when they took to the streets, aiming that Rajoelina would simply resign.
Instead, he held onto power, dissolved his government and held a series of dialogues with different groups of people. Nonetheless, these efforts were not enough to appease the protesters.
Two weeks ago, the protests began, initially organised by a youth movement known as Gen Z Mada, who were angered by persistent power and water shortages.
Col Randrianirina was head of Madagascar’s elite CAPSAT army unit when his troops joined the thousands of protesters on the streets of the capital on Tuesday.
Randrianirina told the Gen Z demonstrators he was taking power and that the military would form a government and hold elections in the next two years.
Both inside and outside the country, pro-democracy advocates hope that this promise will be fulfilled.
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Ahead of Friday’s swearing-in, he added that reforming the electoral commission and cleaning up the voters’ roll were essential before fresh elections could be held, according to the outlet L’Express de Madagascar.
