By ANTANANARIVO, Sept 30 (AfrikTimes) – Security forces fired teargas on Tuesday to disperse hundreds of young demonstrators in Madagascar’s capital who returned to the streets despite President Andry Rajoelina’s decision to partly yield to their demands by dissolving the government.
Rajoelina appeared on state television late Monday, announcing he wanted to create space for dialogue with young people pressing for better access to water and an end to frequent power cuts. He also promised measures to support businesses hit by looting during recent unrest.
But in a post on the protest movement’s Facebook page, some of the protest organisers said they were disappointed by his speech and demanded an apology from both Rajoelina and the now-dismissed prime minister, as well as the firing of Antananarivo’s administrator.
Others went further, carrying placards with messages such as “We need water, we need electricity, Rajoelina out”, footage of protesters marching in the capital Antananarivo, broadcast on the privately owned broadcaster Real TV Madagasikara, showed.
Protesters also marched in the city of Fenoarivo, a small town 20 km (12 miles) west of the capital, footage from Real TV showed. Rallies were reported in Mahajanga, 510 km (315 miles) northwest of Antananarivo, and in Diego Suarez, 950 km (590 miles) north of the capital, privately owned 2424.MG and Fitaproduction reported.
Protesters react as Malagasy riot police work to disperse them during a demonstration against frequent power outages and water shortages, near the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar September 29, 2025.
A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday’s protests.
The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in protests that began last week and are now in their fourth day. The ministry of foreign affairs has rejected the casualty figures shared by the U.N., saying the data did not come from competent national authorities and were based on “rumours or misinformation.”
Inspired by the so-called youth-led “Gen Z” protests in Kenya and Nepal, the four days of demonstrations have been the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years, and the most serious challenge Rajoelina has faced since his re-election in 2023.
Rajoelina first came to power in a 2009 coup. He stepped down in 2014 but became president again after winning the 2018 election, and secured a third term in a December 2023 poll that his challengers said was marred by irregularities.
In Monday’s and last week’s protests, the demonstrators adapted a flag used in Nepal, where protesters forced the prime minister to resign this month. They have also used similar online tactics to organise rallies as protesters did last year in Kenya, where the government scrapped proposed tax legislation.
Malagasy riot police use tear gas to disperse protesters during a demonstration against frequent power outages and water shortages, near the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar September 29, 2025.
Reporting by Adebukola Adeagbo, Lovasoa Rabary; Writing by George Obulutsa.
