Tannibal River, October 18th Question: What¡¯s going on in Madagascar?

Xinhua Agency reporter Ling Xin

Three weeks after the outbreak of mass demonstrations in Madagascar, Army leader Michai Landiani Nirina sworn in as President of the country on 17th in the capital, Tananarivo. What is the current situation in Madagascar? Why has political unrest broken out?

What is the current situation

Landrianirina, 51 years old, read his oath at the Higher Constitutional Court of Madagascar on the 17th. Landrianirina said that Madagascar has ushered in a "historic turning point" and will "open a new chapter."

Reporters in the city of Tannaliver saw that the situation in the capital is currently generally stable, the supply of all kinds of livelihoods is sufficient, market prices remain stable, and social order is gradually recovering. During the day, most of the shops in the city are operating normally, and the ban has also been officially lifted. Although the traffic on the streets and the traffic is still scarce compared to the regular days, the traffic in the supermarket has also decreased compared to before, but public transportation is running orderly, and the daily movement of residents is gradually being restored.

Since September 25th, large-scale demonstrations and * have broken out in Antananarivo and other cities to protest against frequent water and power outages. On October 11th, a mutiny broke out in an elite military camp in the south of Antananarivo, and some soldiers joined the demonstration of *, demanding that President Andry Rajoelina step down. Landrianirina is a commander of the unit.

In a video speech on social media on Saturday night, La Jolina said she had been transferred to a ¡°safe place¡± due to threats to her personal safety.

On the 14th, Nirvana announced in the presidential palace the official takeover of the state regime.He announced the suspension of the use of the existing Constitution, dissolved all major public institutions outside the National Assembly, and opened a political "transition period" for a maximum of two years.

Madagascar was formerly a French colony and became independent in 1960, with media reports reporting that La Jolina had left Madagascar on the 12th with a French military plane.

Why the turmoil broke out?

Madagascar is the largest island in Africa and the fourth largest in the world, with an area of about 590,000 square kilometers, including the surrounding affiliated islands.

¡°We¡¯re tired of water shutdowns¡± is the most prominent slogan of this mass demonstration: as one of the world¡¯s least developed countries, Madagascar¡¯s economy is predominantly agricultural and heavily dependent on foreign aid, with a GDP per capita of just $545 in 2024.

According to data released by the World Bank, the poverty rate in Madagascar is as high as 80%, and only about one-third of the population has access to electricity. The long-term failure to effectively resolve people's livelihood issues is one of the important factors leading to social unrest and political instability in the country.

Analysts pointed out that the reason why water and power cuts can trigger large-scale * nationwide is that this livelihood issue has aroused the widest resonance among all walks of life. The demonstration * started in Antananarivo and gradually spread to many places in Madagascar. Demonstrators confronted and clashed with security forces, and violence continued.

As the conflict escalated, the focus of protesters gradually shifted from people's livelihoods to political, demanding the dissolution of public institutions such as the government, the Supreme Constitutional Court, and calling for the resignation of officials such as the president, the prime minister.

How the situation develops.

After Landrianirina announced the takeover of state power, the African Union has announced the suspension of Madagascar's membership and, together with the Southern African Development Community, said it would send an investigation mission to Madagascar.

The AU issued a statement on the 16th, saying that it is pushing all Malagasy parties to engage in sincere and constructive dialogue to promote national peace and restore * order in *.

In his inauguration speech on Thursday, Nirina expressed his sincerity in inviting the international community to participate in the reconstruction of Madagascar and hoped to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation on the basis of the principles of "constructive, sincere and fair" dialogue.

Malagasy political scientist Philippe Razanajona believes that the international community can call for inclusive dialogue between Malagasy factions, but political solutions must come from Madagascar to maintain the credibility of the transition process.

In fact, this is not the first time that the mutiny troops have participated in a coup. Sixteen years ago, the force also joined a wave of anti-government protests against then-President Mark Ravalomanana, the leader of the coup, who was asked to step down. After multiple rounds of mediation by SADC, in September 2011, Malaysia's main political factions signed a road map for resolving the crisis. At the end of 2013, Malaysia held a presidential election.