Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina dissolved his government on Monday after days of escalating, youth-led protests over crippling water and electricity shortages unrest that the United Nations says has already left at least 22 people dead and more than 100 injured. The demonstrations, now in their third straight day, erupted over rolling blackouts and water cuts lasting more than 12 hours. What began as anger over utilities has snowballed into the biggest protest movement the island nation has witnessed in years, inspired by successful “Gen Z” movements in Kenya and Nepal.
In a televised address, Rajoelina struck a conciliatory tone,“I comprehend the anger, the sorrow, and the challenges. I have heard the call, felt the pain,” he said, apologizing if officials had failed their duties. He also pledged support for businesses hit by looting during the unrest.
Clashes and disputed death tolls
The UN Human Rights Office confirmed casualties came both from security force crackdowns and from opportunistic violence by looters. Madagascar’s foreign ministry, however, rejected the UN’s tally, dismissing it as “rumors or misinformation.”
On Monday, police fired tear gas at crowds gathered at a university campus in Antananarivo after they attempted to march toward the city center, despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed last week.
Global influence, local crisis
Protesters mostly young Malagasies have openly borrowed tactics from abroad. They waved a protest flag modeled on one used in Nepal, where youth protests recently toppled a prime minister, and relied heavily on social media organizing strategies seen in Kenya’s anti-tax demonstrations.
The unrest poses the most serious challenge yet for Rajoelina, a former coup leader who first seized power in 2009 and was re-elected in a disputed 2023 vote. His dissolution of the government is widely seen as an attempt to defuse the crisis and reassert control over a population increasingly unwilling to tolerate shortages and unfulfilled promises.
