Madagascar’s president ANDRY RAJOELINA dissolves government following deadly Gen Z’ protests

Tuesday, September 30, 2025 - Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina said Monday he had sacked his government following fatal protests against repeated water and electricity outages across the Indian Ocean nation.

The protest, led by mostly young demonstrators, has claimed at least 22 lives and left more than a hundred people injured, according to a United Nations tally.

 “I have decided to terminate the functions of the Prime Minister and the government. Pending the formation of the new government, those in office will act as interim ministers,” Rajoelina said in a televised national address.

Applications for a new premier will be received over the next three days before a new government is formed, he said.

Thousands, many dressed in black and chanting calls 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.

The UN’s human rights High Commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement that, “I am shocked and saddened by the killings and injuries in the protests over water and power cuts in Madagascar,” urging “the authorities to ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.

Some of the victims were protesters or bystanders killed by the police or the security forces, his office said, following days of protests against frequent power cuts and poor water access that erupted into clashes with the authorities.

Others were killed in the widespread violence sparked by criminal gangs and looters in the wake of the demonstrations, the office said, insisting that the pillagers were separate from the protesters.

Turk condemned the heavy-handed policing, including the use of live ammunition, calling on the security forces “to desist from the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force and to immediately release all arbitrarily detained protesters”.

The Indian Ocean Island nation, among the world’s poorest, has experienced frequent popular uprisings since gaining independence in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced then-president Marc Ravalomanana from power.