Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina, has dissolved the government after youth-led protests over water and power cuts in which the UN says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured.
Inspired by the “gen Z” protests in Kenya and Nepal, the three days of demonstrations are the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years, and the most serious challenge Rajoelina has faced since his re-election in 2023.
“We acknowledge and apologise if members of the government have not carried out the tasks assigned to them,” Rajoelina said in speech on state broadcaster Televiziona Malagasy.
“I understand the anger, the sadness, and the difficulties caused by power cuts and water supply problems. I heard the call, I felt the suffering, I understood the impact on daily life,” he said.
Applications for a new premier will be received over the next three days before a new government is formed, he said.
The president said he wanted to create space for dialogue with young people, and promised measures to support businesses affected by looting.
Thousands of people, many dressed in black and chanting for Rajoelina to resign, have marched in the capital Antananarivo since the demonstrations began last week.
Police have responded with a heavy hand, firing teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. More than 100 people have been injured.
The UN’s human rights office blamed a “violent response” by security forces for some of the deaths, with other fatalities caused by violence and looting by gangs not associated with the protesters.
Madagascar’s ministry of foreign affairs rejected the casualty figures reported by the UN, saying the data did not come from competent national authorities, saying they were “based on rumours or misinformation”.
On Monday, protesters gathered at a university where they waved placards and sang the national anthem before attempting to march towards the city centre, footage from 2424.MG news channel showed.
Police fired teargas to disperse the crowd after authorities declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew last week.
The protesters have adapted a flag used in Nepal where protesters forced the prime minister to resign earlier this month, and they have also used similar online organisation tactics as protests in Kenya last year that culminated in the government scrapping proposed tax legislation.
Rajoelina first came to power in a 2009 coup. He stepped down in 2014 but became president again after winning the 2018 election, and secured a third term in a December 2023 poll that his challengers said was marred by irregularities.
Madagascar is among the world’s poorest nations and has experienced frequent popular uprisings since gaining independence in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced former president Marc Ravalomanana from power.
