Madagascar President fires the government following days of deadly Gen Z protests

Demonstrators hold up placards reading “water and electricity are basic human rights,” “Malagasy people, wake up,” in Antananarivo

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina fired the prime minister and the rest of his government yesterday [Macau time] in response to days of deadly Gen Z-led protests in the Indian Ocean island over the failure of the electricity and water supplies.

Rajoelina said in a speech on national television that Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and other government officials would stay on an interim basis until a new government is formed. He invited applications for government positions and gave a three-day time frame to review proposals for a new prime minister.

“Your demands have been heard, and I apologize if there are members of the government who have not done the work that the people expected,” Rajoelina said.

The protesters had called for the resignation of both Ntsay and Rajoelina, but Rajoelina gave no indication that he would step down.

The protests against chronic electricity and water cuts began on Thursday and drew thousands onto the streets, prompting the government to order nighttime curfews in the capital, Antananarivo, and other major cities. The demonstrations gathered momentum on social media and have mirrored recent youth-led anti-government protests in Nepal and Kenya.

The United Nations human rights office said earlier that 22 people had been killed in clashes surrounding the protests. The U.N. agency blamed a “violent response” by security forces. More than 100 people also have been injured in the protests, the agency said.

Protesters and bystanders were killed by security forces, but some of the deaths also came in violence and looting by gangs not associated with the protesters, the U.N. rights office said in a statement.

U.N. high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk was shocked “at the violent response by security forces to the ongoing protests in Madagascar,” the U.N. rights office said. It said the protests began peacefully on Thursday, “but the security forces intervened with unnecessary force, lobbing tear gas and beating and arresting protesters. Some officers also used live ammunition.”

Madagascar Foreign Minister Rasata Rafaravavitafika disputed the U.N.’s death toll in a statement, saying “the government strongly denies” that 22 people had died. Yet Madagascar authorities have not given any figures of their own for how many people died or were injured.

Rajoelina said that he sympathized with anyone who had lost a loved one in the protests but also didn’t offer a death toll on Monday.

Thousands of protesters had returned to the streets in Antananarivo and other cities earlier on Monday, prompting security forces to again fire tear gas at the crowds.

Over the last five days, protesters have barricaded roads with burning tires and rocks, while several stations for Antananarivo’s new cable car public transport system were set on fire. Local media reported that the homes of some politicians known to be close to Rajoelina were attacked by protesters.

The government has imposed a nighttime curfew in Antananarivo since Thursday and in other major cities since Friday.

Madagascar is a large island of 31 million people off the east coast of Africa. Protesters have been angered by widespread poverty as well as the failure of authorities to provide reliable supplies of water and electricity. The World Bank has recorded a sharp rise in poverty levels in urban areas in Madagascar in recent years.

Protesters have been carrying flags or wearing T-shirts with a cartoon skull and bones image from the Japanese anime TV series “One Piece” that was used by anti-government protesters in Nepal and parts of Southeast Asia recently. The Madagascan protesters carried placards reading “Justice for Madagascar,” “Leo” — which means “we’re fed up” — and “We want to live, not just survive.”

Rajoelina, 51, has been president since 2019 and was previously the leader of a provisional government following a 2009 coup. He was reelected in 2023 in a vote that was boycotted by most opposition candidates. SARAH TÉTAUD & GERALD IMRAY, ANTANANARIVO, MDT/AP