Jessica Tezoquipa, staff writer

On Oct. 12, an elite soldier unit known as the Corps d’administration des personnels et des services administratifs et techniques (CAPSAT) overthrew the government of Madagascar, which caps off Gen Z protests. Protests kicked off in late September as thousands of young people took to the streets to protest chronic water and electricity cuts. According to the World Bank, 75% of Madagascar’s 30 million people live below the poverty line. One-third has access to electricity, states the International Monetary Fund. Protesters organized online under the title “Gen Z Madagascar,” and their Facebook page gained more than 100,000 followers, shares AP News.

The police imposed a nighttime curfew to try and quell protests, which saw police use tear gas and rubber bullets. According to the United Nations, at least 22 people were killed in the early days of the protests. The United Nations blames security forces for a violent crackdown on what started as peaceful protests, while Madagascar’s former president, Andry Rajoelina, states only 12 have died.

On Sunday, Oct. 12, while Rajoelina was still president, he reportedly “calls for calm” as he warns of an “attempt to seize power illegally and by force” after CAPSAT soldiers leave barracks and join protests against the president. Mr. Rajoelina ousted the previous president in a coup backed by the army, in particular the elite soldiers of CAPSAT. When CAPSAT forces joined the protests that led to Mr. Rajoelina going into hiding, he spoke via a live Facebook broadcast, stating that “a group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me.” CAPSAT has denied those allegations, saying they never had any intention to harm “even a single hair on his head,” according to the BBC. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has called the situation in Madagascar “greatly worrying” but refused to comment on reports that the French military had airlifted the island’s president out of the country on Sunday, shares the BBC.

According to CNA, Mr. Rajoelina reportedly dissolved the national assembly to block a vote to impeach him. Opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana, the former ousted president who lost power to Rajoelina in the 2009 coup, called a special assembly to “note the absence of power in Madagascar,” stating, “There is a power vacuum. The solution is not revenge, or confusion, but a peaceful, inclusive, and responsible transition.” The lower house of Madagascar’s Parliament reportedly overwhelmingly voted to impeach Mr. Rajoelina, and the constitutional court recognized the leadership of Colonel Randrianirina, a leader from CAPSAT. Randrianirina stated to reporters that the military would form a “council composed of officers from the military and the gendarmerie,” and a prime minister would “quickly” be appointed to form a civilian government, PBS writes. Furthermore, Randrianirina stated that certain democratic institutions will be suspended, such as the constitution and the Constitutional Court, with a referendum being held in two years. Soldiers can be found riding armored cars around the capital, being cheered on by Malagasy citizens, writes PBS.