Tuesday 14 / October / 2025
Antananarivo: Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina reportedly left the country on Sunday amid growing public discontent with his leadership.
Rajoelina's departure was confirmed on Monday and comes after he lost the backing of a key faction of the military, members of whom he accused of instigating a coup aganst him.
News of the president's departure was confirmed by opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, who cited conversations with presidency staff in comments made to Reuters.
"The president left the country, we called the staff of the presidency and they confirmed that he left the country," said Randrianasoloniaiko, adding that Rajoelina's current whereabouts were unknown.
Rajoelina's exit follows massive youth-led protests against Rajoelina in recent weeks calling on him to resign.
The presidency's office had previously claimed Rajoelina was still in the country. The 51-year-old has not been seen in public since Wednesday.
Presidential address delayed
French media reported that Rajoelina, who became a French citizen in 2014, was flown out of the country on a French military aircraft under an agreement with President Emmanuel Macron.
Speaking in Egypt on Monday, Macron would not confirm whether France had helped Rajoelina flee, saying only that, "constitutional order must be preserved in Madagascar."
Rajoelina's office announced that he would deliver an address to the nation at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Monday.
However, he has been forced to postpone the adddress twice because "a group of armed forces threatened to take control of the state-owned media," according to the presidency.
His team says it is negotiating a resolution but has provided no further details.
