Madagascar\u2019s military ruler Col Michael Randrianirina has dissolved the government unexpectedly, dismissing the prime minister and the entire cabinet, according to a statement from his spokesperson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government has ceased its functions\u201d it said, adding that Randrianirina will appoint a new prime minister \u201cin line with the provisions stipulated by the constitution\u201d.<\/p>\n
No reason was given for the move.<\/p>\n
Randrianirina seized power last October from Andry Rajoelina, following weeks of youth-led protests on the Indian Ocean island. Rajoelina had been elected president for a third term in a disputed poll in 2023.<\/p>\n
The demonstrations were over persistent power and water shortages, culminating in the army siding with the demonstrators.<\/p>\n
Randrianirina has pledged to call new elections within two years.<\/p>\n
Last December, the regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), directed Madagascar\u2019s military authorities to submit a roadmap for restoring democracy including plans for fresh elections by the end of February.<\/p>\n
But in a surprise on Monday, Randrianirina sacked his entire government and assigned permanent secretaries to run ministries\u2019 day-to-day operations until a new cabinet is formed.<\/p>\n
Randrianirina has not explained the motivation for the mass sackings, but leaders of the Gen Z movement, whose grassroots mobilisation helped bring the military leader to power, have called for more inclusiveness in the transition process and greater representation in decision-making structures.<\/p>\n
Activist groups, calling themselves Gen Z and Gen Y movements, had recently issued a 72-hour ultimatum for Randrianirina\u2019s resignation, citing frustration with his performance, local media reported.<\/p>\n
Businessman Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo had been appointed prime minister in October in an effort to bridge the divide between military leadership and civilian government.<\/p>\n
The the Gen Z movement leaders rejected his appointment at the time, saying it was made in a \u201cnon-transparent\u201d manner and \u201cwithout consultation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The group demanded to know how Rajaonarivelo was selected given what it said were his connection to the previous government.<\/p>\n
They then said that the decision \u201cruns contrary to the desired structural change\u201d the movement was seeking.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s dissolution of the government could mark a significant shift in the country\u2019s political landscape with the military leader seeking to establish a new administration.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Madagascar\u2019s military ruler Col Michael Randrianirina has dissolved the government unexpectedly, dismissing the prime minister and the entire cabinet, according to a statement from his spokesperson. \u201cThe government has ceased its functions\u201d it said, adding that Randrianirina will appoint a new prime minister \u201cin line with the provisions stipulated by the constitution\u201d. No reason was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}