HARARE – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has issued a cautious response to the dramatic ouster of Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina — who, until his removal, also served as the regional bloc’s chairperson — following weeks of youth-led protests and a mutiny by sections of the military.
SADC’s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, chaired by Malawian President Arthur Peter Mutharika, said the bloc was following the developments in Madagascar “with grave concern” and expressed “profound solidarity with the people” of the island nation.
The communique, issued on Monday, however, stopped short of condemning the military’s seizure of power or demanding Rajoelina’s reinstatement.
Instead, SADC urged “calm and restraint” while calling for “inclusive and constructive dialogue to resolve differences peacefully.”
The statement added that SADC would “without delay deploy a Mission of the SADC Panel of Elders to Madagascar on a fact-finding mission” to help facilitate dialogue and the restoration of “institutional normalcy and national cohesion.”
The lukewarm response mirrors SADC’s stance during Zimbabwe’s 2017 coup, deepening perceptions that the bloc is politically impotent and unwilling to confront member states that flout democratic norms.
Rajoelina’s fall marks a remarkable reversal for the 49-year-old former disc jockey and entrepreneur who once styled himself as the youthful face of Malagasy politics. He came to power in 2009 with military backing after toppling then-president Marc Ravalomanana, later winning two disputed elections and assuming the rotating SADC chairmanship from Zimbabwe in 2024.
But after months of growing discontent over rolling power cuts, water shortages and rising food prices, tens of thousands of young protesters flooded Antananarivo’s May 13 Square — the symbolic epicentre of Madagascar’s revolutions — demanding Rajoelina’s resignation.
The protests, dominated by Generation Z demonstrators wielding flags emblazoned with the skull-and-straw-hat insignia from the Japanese manga One Piece, soon morphed into a wider rebellion against political corruption and elite rule.
The movement gained unstoppable momentum over the weekend when elite military units — including those that had once installed Rajoelina — defected to the protesters’ side. By Tuesday, the president had fled aboard a French military aircraft amid reports of heavy fighting between rival army factions in the capital.
On Tuesday, Madagascar’s Constitutional Court declared Rajoelina “unable to perform his duties” and invited Colonel Michael Randrianirina, the commander who led the mutiny, to serve as interim president and organise new elections within 60 days.
Speaking after taking control, Randrianirina announced the dissolution of “most institutions” and pledged to restore order and prepare for a democratic transition.
“We have heard the people,” he told cheering crowds in Antananarivo. “This is a new beginning for Madagascar.”
The National Assembly subsequently voted to impeach Rajoelina, sealing his downfall after 15 years of alternating dominance and controversy in Malagasy politics.
Despite the jubilant scenes in the capital, many analysts warned that Madagascar risks repeating its turbulent past. The country, one of the world’s poorest, has endured a series of coups and failed transitions since independence from France in 1960.
More than three-quarters of the population live on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank, while successive governments have failed to turn Madagascar’s vast natural wealth — including vanilla, nickel and sapphires — into broad-based prosperity.
For many protesters, however, Rajoelina’s ouster marks a cathartic end to a long chapter of broken promises.
“He had to go,” said Angie Rakoto, a 21-year-old law student who has been part of the protests. “Now it’s time for someone who cares about the Malagasy people.”
Still, uncertainty looms over the island’s political future — and over SADC’s ability, or willingness, to shape it.
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