Antananarivo: Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who has assumed control of Madagascar following the president's departure amidst weeks of protests, has announced a two-year interim military rule leading up to elections. The colonel's declaration was made on Wednesday, following the president's flight from the country.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Colonel Randrianirina, in a broadcast on the national radio, outlined plans for a public referendum in two years to draft a new constitution, which will precede elections aimed at gradually forming new institutions. Randrianirina, who heads Madagascar's elite military CAPSAT unit, played a key role in the 2009 coup that brought former president Andry Rajoelina to power.
Since assuming control, Randrianirina has suspended various national institutions, including the Senate, the electoral commission, and major legal bodies such as the High Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, Rajoelina has denied his ousting via the Facebook presidency site, labeling the military presence around the presidential palace as a "coup." The nation has been plagued by protests since last September, initially over inadequate water and power supply, which evolved into demonstrations calling for the regime's downfall. Subsequently, military forces joined the protests, leading to the seizure of military bases across the country.