Madagascar is facing a deepening political crisis as youth-led protests enter their second week. Opposition forces and civil society groups have boycotted the consultations launched by President Andry Rajoelina, denouncing them as a “political maneuver” to sidestep public demands.
The “Gen Z” movement gave the president a deadline that expired last night to meet its demands, threatening a general strike if ignored. The group’s key demands include dismissing the Senate president, launching judicial investigations into a businessman close to the president, and safeguarding public freedoms.
Meanwhile, the appointment of General Rofin Fortunat Zafisambo as Prime Minister has been widely rejected by the opposition, which described it as a “change of faces, not of system,” stressing that a military figure cannot embody the deep reform sought by the protesters.
