Madagascar’s constitutional court has declared Andry Rajoelina the country’s new president after his arch rival, now ex-president Marc Ravalomanana, was swept from office by the army at the end of a months-long, deadly power struggle.
AFP – Madagascar’s constitional court declared Andry Rajoelina the new president of the vast Indian Ocean island on Wednesday, a day after his arch rival was swept from office by the army.
Rajoelina, who was expected to address his supporters in the capital later in the day, moved swiftly to assert his authority in the wake of Marc Ravalomanana’s ouster at the end of a months-long deadly power struggle.
“You can call me president,” the 34-year-old former disc jockey told French television.
“It is the people who are giving power, it’s the people who are retaking power. We are responding to this demand to put myself at the head of the transitional (government).”
Although foreign governments held back from legitimising the power shift, the constitutional court confirmed Rajoelina as the acting president of the republic, according to a document obtained by AFP.
The court “proclaims that Mr. Andry Rajoelina exercises the attributions of the president of the Republic as stated by the provisions of the constitution,” the document said.
Rajoelina was expected to outline a transition period in his address to supporters but he indicated in his television interview that he would organise a fresh presidential election within two years.
One of his first tasks at the helm of the transitional authority he set up last month will be to fill the constitutional gap of his takeover, not least of which is an article which makes him six years too young to run for president.
Rajoelina effectively took charge on Tuesday evening after the military rejected a plan laid out by the beleaguered Ravalomanana to hand over power to some of his allies in the military.
We have categorically rejected the (military) authority that Ravalomanana asked us to set up after his resignation,” Vice Admiral Hippolyte Rarison Ramaroson said.
“We transfer full powers to Andry Rajoelina, who will oversee the transition,” he said during a ceremony at a military camp.
The 59-year-old Ravalomanana’s resignation came hours after the army had blasted its way into his offices and let his arch rival Rajoelina take control.
The move marked a dramatic victory for Rajoelina, the sacked mayor of Antananarivo who has been leading a months-long push to topple Ravalomanana after seven years as president of the impoverished former French colony.
Rajoelina had earlier been cheered by thousands of supporters and saluted by the army as he took over a deserted presidency in the city centre. Ravalomanana was meanwhile left holed up in his palace on the outskirts of town.
While Ravalomanana did receive support from his African peers, the condemation was muted.
A special meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa called for the security of the outgoing president and his entourage to be guaranteed.
“We would want constitutional order to continue,” said the African Union’s top executive Jean Ping.
“If the military do not follow this, this will be a coup. But then again we are still following the situation,” he told reporters.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed “grave concern” as he urged all sides “to act responsibly to ensure stability and a smooth transition through democratic means.”
“This peaceful path can only be the result of transitional arrangements arrived at by consensus and enjoying wide support,” he added in a statement.
Ravalomanana’s whereabouts following his resignation were not immediately clear but speculation has abounded for days that he might flee into exile.
Most of his family left when he lost control of the army last week.
Source
More Stories
Hippolyte Kanambe – Joseph Kabila: Horrendous Betrayal by Former DRC Head of State
France at War against DRC Using Her Rwandan Puppet
Malangu Kabedi Mbuyi: International Finance Guru at the Helm of DR Congo Reserve Bank