Madagascar Ruler Appoints Cabinet Members After Ouster Of Army Leader
Madagascar’s military ruler named on Tuesday a government replete with familiar faces from the island’s political elite, sidelining young protesters’ calls for a clean slate after President Andry Rajoelina’s ouster.
Angry over chronic power cuts and economic stagnation, the poverty-stricken Indian Ocean island’s “Gen Z” protesters sparked a mass movement for change, which led to Rajoelina’s flight after Colonel Michael Randrianirina mutinied and seized power.
But Randrianirina, who was sworn in as president on October 17, announced on Tuesday that he had selected a 28-person cabinet, which includes several ex-ministers and Rajoelina’s former right-hand man, after consulting Madagascar’s main power-brokers.
Several key figures from the Rajoelina era made a comeback in the new cabinet, raising fears over whether the new government will heed the Gen Z movement’s demands.
The foreign affairs ministry has gone to Christine Razanamahasoa, who held the justice portfolio between 2009 and 2013 after Rajoelina took power in a military-backed coup.
She then served two stints as the National Assembly’s speaker, before being kicked out of Rajoelina’s party after falling out with the now-deposed president.
