Madagascar: Anatomy of a Recurrent Crisis

On 17 March 2009, President Marc Ravalomanana of Madagascar was reported to have announced his resignation and handed over power to a military directorate. Soon after this announcement, the military officers who had seized one of the presidential palaces the previous day declared Andry Rajoelina, former mayor of Antananarivo, ‘president’ of Madagascar. The High Constitutional Court later confirmed this decision and on Saturday 21 March he was inaugurated as Madagascar’s president and head of the ‘High Transitional Authority’.