In October 2025 President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar was toppled by an army unit that sided with a youth-led protest movement, in an episode heavy with irony because the same unit had brought him to power in 2009. Decentralized Gen Z protests had erupted in late September, triggered by chronic water and electricity shortages in the capital Antananarivo and swelling into a broader revolt against corruption and inequality; the security response killed at least 22 people by UN count. Rajoelina tried to defuse it by sacking his energy minister and then dissolving the government, but protesters kept demanding he go.
The decisive turn came when CAPSAT, an elite army unit, announced it had sided with the protesters and would not fire on them, then declared it was taking control of the armed forces around 11 to 12 October. Soldiers escorted demonstrators through the capital. Rajoelina, saying he had been forced to find a safe place to protect his life, left the country, reportedly aboard a French military plane, and denounced what he called an attempted coup.
On 14 October the National Assembly impeached him for abandoning his post, ignoring his attempt to dissolve it, and the military declared it was assuming power, dissolving state institutions except the assembly. CAPSAT colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as interim president on 17 October, and the African Union suspended Madagascar.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Andry Rajoelina, who fled the country as the CAPSAT army unit backed protesters and took power; parliament impeached him
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Andry Rajoelina (president who fled)
Michael Randrianirina (CAPSAT colonel sworn in as interim president)
the CAPSAT army unit
the Gen Z Madagascar protest movement
Sources
The 2025 Malagasy protests were decentralized Gen Z-led protests from September to October 2025, culminating in a coup by the CAPSAT unit which overthrew sitting President Andry Rajoelina; the protests were triggered by frequent water and power outages in Antananarivo, and at least 22 people were killed.
On 12 October 2025 CAPSAT, an elite unit of the Madagascar Armed Forces, overthrew the government of President Andry Rajoelina; the unit urged the rest of the military to join and the capital was seized with little resistance, and on 13 October Rajoelina fled the country and, from an undisclosed location, ordered the dissolution of the National Assembly, which ignored him and proceeded to impeach him.
The army seized power days after the president went into hiding saying he feared for his life, with Colonel Michael Randrianirina of CAPSAT announcing the army was in control, minutes after members of parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina for abandoning his post; Rajoelina himself first came to power in a 2009 coup with the help of the same CAPSAT unit that just unseated him.
The National Assembly impeached Rajoelina with 130 votes in favor and one blank vote, finding him guilty of abandoning his post, and Colonel Michael Randrianirina, head of CAPSAT, was sworn in as interim president, promising to organize a national overhaul over two years, while the African Union immediately suspended Madagascar for an unconstitutional change of government.
AFTER the training cutoff (Oct 2025); researched fresh this session from multiple sources (Wikipedia x2, NPR/AP, TIME, ConstitutionNet, Good Authority). Coded fate fled the country is verified: Rajoelina left, reportedly on a French military plane, and was later stripped of citizenship. Coded as a military coup on 10-03; note the dataset date (10-03) falls within the protest period, while the CAPSAT takeover climaxed around 11-14 October (unit sides with protesters ~11 Oct, seizes forces 12 Oct, Rajoelina flees 13 Oct, impeachment and military assumption of power 14 Oct, Randrianirina sworn in 17 Oct). The military coup label fits the CAPSAT seizure, though it rode a genuine Gen Z popular uprising. NOTABLE TIE: Rajoelina came to power via the 2009 Madagascar events (already in the dataset) with the help of this same CAPSAT unit, which has now removed him, a striking full-circle. Part of the 2025 Gen Z uprising wave (Nepal, and echoes of Sri Lanka/Bangladesh).
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Andry Rajoelina, who fled the country as the CAPSAT army unit backed protesters and took power; parliament impeached him.
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; fled the country. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Asia News Monitor
“Madagascar: Madagascar Genz Protests Erupt Over Water And Power Woes,”October 7,2025“Madagascar: Madagascar president warns of attempted coup after soldiers join protests,” October 15, 2025
“Madagascar: FACTBOX - What we know about political crisis in Madagascar,” October 16, 2025
“Madagascar: Military seizes power in Madagascar, suspends constitution,” October 16, 2025 “Madagascar: Madagascar coup leader R Andrian Irina sworn in as president,” October 21, 2025
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →