Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has left the country, opposition leader Siteni Randrianasoloniako said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Randrianasoloniako made the statement, citing conversations with presidential officials. “The president has left the country, we called the presidential officials and they confirmed that he has left“, Randrianasoloniako said, adding that Rajoelina's current whereabouts are unknown.
As previously reported by the French radio station “Radio France Internacional“ (RFI), the president fled the country after weeks of protests. According to the media, he was flown out of the island country yesterday on a French military plane in agreement with President Emmanuel Macron.
Rajoelina, who became a French citizen in 2014, was expected to address the nation at 7 p.m. local time today, as announced by the presidency in Antananarivo.
Meanwhile, opposition members in Madagascar's National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) will begin impeachment proceedings against Rajoelina.
“Our constitution gives us the right to remove the president from office, we are removing him“, said Randrianasoloniako.
The island nation has been rocked by protests, with tens of thousands of young people taking to the streets, DPA recalls. They were sparked by power and water outages, disillusionment with the education system, high unemployment, and widespread poverty.
The peaceful demonstrations turned violent, killing at least 22 people. Rajoelina's office condemned the coup attempt against him. A rebel army unit said it had taken control of the country's land, air, and naval forces. Scores of soldiers joined the protests.