Madagascar’s president dissolved parliament as opposition lawmakers sought his impeachment, seeking to stay in office after an army faction joined thousands of anti-government demonstrators demanding that he step down.

President Andry Rajoelina made the announcement on Tuesday, a day after disclosing he had gone into hiding because of an alleged assassination plot, becoming the latest ruler to be imperiled by so-called Gen Z protesters demanding change.

“I will not let Madagascar fall or be destroyed. I am opening the door to dialog so that we can overcome this crisis together,” he said in a post on social media late Monday. “The past fifteen days have been difficult, but now it is time to listen, to talk, and to act together for the future.”

Demonstrations erupted in Madagascar last month over water and power shortages, sending thousands of people into the streets and leading to clashes with security forces in which at least 22 people died. The outburst of anger over a lack of basic services and government corruption mirrors recent backlashes in countries including Morocco, Indonesia, Nepal and Kenya against ruling elites.

The mood in Antananarivo, the Malagasy capital, was calm on Tuesday with the police avoiding confrontation with protesters who remain on the streets, according to local media.

It was not immediately clear what the impact would be of Rajoelina’s declaration that parliament was dissolved with immediate effect. The opposition has called for the former nightclub DJ to be impeached, but that would also hinge on lawmakers from the president’s own party, which holds a majority in the chamber.

Rajoelina’s remarks on Monday night were an “attempt to show that he is still the president, managing the state affairs,” opposition lawmaker Mamy Rabenirina said by phone. “At the same time, he tried to play the victim card, while everybody was expecting his resignation.”

Radio France International reported earlier Monday that the president was evacuated by a French military aircraft on Sunday at the request of President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron declined to comment on French involvement, but stressed the need to ensure the nation’s youth were not “co-opted by military factions or foreign interference” in remarks to reporters as he traveled back from a summit in Egypt.

Rajoelina first seized power in 2009 with the backing of the military. He stepped down in 2014, but reclaimed the presidency by winning elections in 2018 and then secured another term in a disputed vote in 2023.

He sacked the government last month in an attempt to appease the protesters and last week appointed an army general as prime minister.

The balance of power shifted away from Rajoelina on Saturday, when an army unit known as CAPSAT declared its support for the protesters. The faction was instrumental in propelling Rajoelina to his first stint in office 16 years ago.

The Senate appointed a new leader on Monday, who according to the constitution would act as a caretaker head of state should the president depart office.

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries on the planet, with four out of five residents living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. There have been several military coups in the Indian Ocean island nation, which lies off the coast of Mozambique, since it gained independence from France in 1960.

Sign up here for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter, and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen.

----------

—With assistance from Samy Adghirni, Helen Nyambura and Paul Richardson.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.