The former president of Madagascar fled the country. The authorities deprived him of his citizenship
The decree on the deprivation of Rajoelina's Malagasy citizenship, signed by Prime Minister Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, was published in the Official Gazette of Madagascar on Saturday.
A day earlier, his former adviser and main sponsor, owner of many media outlets, the second richest man in Madagascar, Maminiaina Ravatomanga, was arrested in neighboring Mauritius. After Rajoelina's escape, he fled to Mauritius, but the local police and services investigating financial crimes detained him on charges of money laundering, involving an amount of USD 160 million.
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Why did Andry Rajoelina escape from Madagascar?
Who signed the decree revoking Rajoelina's citizenship?
What were the reasons for the protests in Madagascar?
What happened to Maminiaina Ravatomanga in Mauritius?
In the last weeks of 51-year-old Rajoelina's term in office, Madagascar was rocked by demonstrations organized by thousands of young people protesting against power and water cuts, high costs of living and widespread corruption.
An elite military unit joined the protests, and Colonel Michael Randrianirina, led by it, staged a coup, adding Madagascar to the long list of African countries ruled by military juntas. On the same day, October 13, Rajoelina fled Madagascar, claiming that his life was in danger.
The former president had previously adopted French citizenship
The new government announced that it was stripping him of his citizenship because he had voluntarily acquired French citizenship in 2014. A regulation from 1960, when Madagascar gained independence from France, stipulates that Malagasy citizenship automatically expires in such a situation.
Rajoelina hid this fact, and the matter came to light during the 2023 presidential campaign. The opposition then questioned his right to run for and possibly hold the highest office in the country, but the Constitutional Tribunal approved his candidacy.
Randrianirina, the leader of the coup, was sworn in on October 17 and promised to hold elections within the next two years. Madagascar, with a population of approximately 30 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world, and at the same time one of the countries with the highest percentage of the population under the age of 20. According to World Bank data, three quarters of the population live in poverty, and between independence and 2020, GDP per capita decreased by 45 percent.
