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Madagascar’s leader, Andry Rajoelina, will address the nation on Monday evening, as announced by the presidency, in response to growing calls for his resignation from both protesters and a rebellious military unit.
Over the weekend, Rajoelina said that there was an ongoing “attempt to unlawfully seize power” in the island nation following a military unit’s support for a protest movement that has been active for over two weeks.
The president is scheduled to speak to the public at 7:00 pm (1600 GMT), according to a statement posted by the presidency on Facebook.
The CAPSAT unit, which significantly contributed to the coup in 2009 that initially brought Rajoelina into power, declared on Saturday that it would “decline orders to fire” upon the demonstrators.
Soldiers subsequently entered the city centre to join several thousand protesters, and again participated in a rally on Sunday to commemorate those who lost their lives during more than two weeks of anti-government protests that began on September 25.
Despite rumours of Rajoelina’s possible escape, his administration said on Saturday that he remained in Madagascar and was overseeing national matters.
On Monday, hundreds of students took to the streets with a festive spirit, marching through the capital while waving the national flag and accompanied by a brass band. Some soldiers mingled with the crowd, as students climbed onto military vehicles and held flags.
The Gen Z group spearheading the protest movement has called for another gathering later on Monday. The initial focus of the protests was on persistent power and water shortages in the impoverished nation, which later expanded into a larger anti-government movement demanding the resignation of the 51-year-old Rajoelina.
According to the United Nations, at least 22people lost their lives in the early days of the unrest, with some fatalities attributed to security forces and others to violence instigated by criminal gangs and looters during the demonstrations.
Rajoelina has challenged this death toll, indicating last week that there were “12 confirmed deaths, all of whom were looters and vandals.”
