An elite military unit seized control of Madagascar this week, echoing a 2009 coup that first brought (now deposed) President Andry Rajoelina to power.

The takeover follows weeks of mass demonstrations over worsening living conditions and government mismanagement.

The unit, the Army Corps of Personnel and Administrative and Technical Services (known by its French acronym of CAPSAT), which gained control of the Madagascan government this week also played a decisive role in the 2009 coup. Its chief, Michael Randrianirina, is now the interim President of Madagascar.

The mass demonstrations which led to CAPSAT’s coup, have rocked the African island nation for weeks, and have been dubbed the “Gen Z Madagascar” protests. They are part of a broader wave of youth-led uprisings seen recently in various countries around the world

The protestors finally got the upper hand when last weekend Randrianirina and his soldiers sided with demonstrators calling for Rajoelina’s resignation. The unit announced its refusal to follow orders to shoot protesters, and declared that: “from now on, all orders of the Malagasy army, whether land, air, or sea, will come from CAPSAT headquarters.”

Randrianirina is expected to be officially sworn in as Madagascar’s president today.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Randrianirina said he was: “taking the position of president” and that the military intends to govern for two years before holding democratic elections. Randrianirina has dissolved Madagascar's high-level governmental institutions except for the lower house of Parliament, which on Tuesday voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina.

Rajoelina, who rose to power after a 2009 military coup, stepped down in 2013 after a return to civilian rule. He was subsequently democratically elected in 2018 and 2023. Last month, he dismissed his cabinet in an attempt to quell unrest after a violent crackdown left at least 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to the United Nations, a toll his government disputes.

Rajoelina’s whereabouts remain unknown, having fled the country on Sunday.

Madagascar is the sixth former French colony in Africa to experience a coup since 2020, after Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, and Gabon.

The African Union has suspended Madagascar.