Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday, October 14, dissolved the national assembly, pre-empting an opposition-led vote to force him out of office over the island nation's spiraling political crisis. The decree to dissolve the assembly "shall enter into force immediately upon its publication by radio and/or television broadcast," the presidency said in a statement published on Facebook.
Rajoelina has faced over two weeks of deadly street clashes, led largely by young demonstrators furious with the ruling elite, forcing the 51-year-old leader into hiding. Rajoelina, who has defied mounting calls to resign, defended the move in a separate social media post as necessary to "restore order within our nation and strengthen democracy." "The People must be heard again. Make way for the youth," he said in a post on social media.
Opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko said Monday they would vote to impeach Rajoelina for desertion of duty following reports he had fled the country. Rajoelina, a former mayor of the capital Antananarivo, said late Monday he was sheltering in a "safe space" after attempts on his life, without revealing his location.
The protests began on September 25 and reached a pivotal point at the weekend when mutinous soldiers and security forces joined the demonstrators and called for the president and other government ministers to step down.
Among them were the elite CAPSAT unit, which played a major role in the 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina to power. To try to defuse the protests, the president last month sacked his entire government.
Radio France Internationale reported that Rajoelina departed Madagascar aboard a French military plane at the weekend but French officials have yet to respond to AFP's request for confirmation.