Madagascar’s president has said he will dissolve his government, following days of youth-led protests over longstanding water and power cuts.
“We acknowledge and apologise if members of the government have not carried out the tasks assigned to them,” Andry Rajoelina said in a televised national address on Monday.
Thousands of predominantly Gen Z demonstrators have taken to the streets in cities across Madagascar since Thursday, under the rallying cry of “We want to live, not survive”.
The UN’s human rights chief condemned the “unnecessary force” used by security forces to quell the unrest, with at least 22 people dead and 100 others injured.
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Peaceful protests broke out on Thursday in the capital Antananarivo, but have since spread to eight cities across the country.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed in the capital Antananarivo on Thursday after the protests turned violent.
Last week, Madagascar’s president announced that he had sacked the energy minister for failing to do his job properly, but protesters demanded that the president and the rest of his government step down too.
Thousands took to the streets once again on Monday.
“I understand the anger, the sadness, and the difficulties caused by power cuts and water supply problems,” Rajoelina said during his address on state broadcaster Televiziona Malagasy.
He said he had “terminated the functions of the prime minister and the government” and applications for a new premier would be received over the next three days before a new government is formed.
Rajoelina added that he wanted to hold talks with young people.
UNCHR head Volker Türk said he was “shocked” by a violent crackdown by security forces that saw beatings, arrests, live bullets and tear gas meted out to demonstrators.
“I urge the security forces to desist from the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force and to immediately release all arbitrarily detained protesters,” Türk said in a statement issued by his office on Monday.
According to the UN, the dead “include protesters and bystanders killed by members of the security forces, but also others killed in subsequent widespread violence and looting by individuals and gangs not associated with the protesters”.
Madagascar’s foreign ministry has rejected the UN’s figures, alleging the data “are based on rumours or misinformation”.
A banner at one of last week’s demonstrations in Antananarivo read: “We don’t want trouble, we just want our rights”.
But some reports last week suggested protesters had damaged – possibly by setting fire to – the homes of at least two legislators.
But the “Gen Z” movement alleges that paid goons had looted various buildings in order to undermine their cause.
Madagascar has been rocked by multiple uprisings since it gained independence in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced former president Marc Ravalomanana to step down and saw Rajoelina come to power.
The protests mark the most significant challenge the president has faced since his third re-election in 2023.
Additional reporting by Danny Aeberhard
