One of the more recent political controversies that took place in Madagascar was the Malagast Political Crisis which took place in January 2009. The protests against the government were organized by a man named Andry Rajoelina who was the mayor of the capital city of Antananarivo. A picture of the capital city is located on the right.
The protests quickly turned violent and over 150 people were killed. Rajoelina then called for a dissolution of the government and for a transitional government to be formed under his leadership. In March 2009, one of the palaces controlled by President Ravalomanana was raided by the army controlled by Rajoelina. The palace was then immediately used for presidential offices by Rajoelina. The African Union spoke against the actions of Rajoelina calling it an attempted coup d'etat. Which is when an already established small political group of the state (often the military) attempts to take control of the country.
Ravalomanana quickly moved to an undisclosed location and the Vice Admiral Ramaroson announced two days later that they were to transfer power directly to Rajoelina. This makes him president of the High Transitional Authority which Ramaroson had created just weeks earlier. The Madagascar Constitution Court deemed this to be a legal operation. Rajoelina said the raid was not a coup d'etat, rather a direct expression of democracy by the people. Only hours later, the navy spoke out about Rajoelina and demanded his immediate resignation in order to protect the constitution of the Nation.
I don't think it is right for Rajoelina to break the constitution of his nation to forcefully gain more power. He called it democracy at work, however, he was running the military and most citizens would be much too afraid to speak against them for fear of death. The navy spoke against them but they did not have the power to move him from his presidency. It is unfortunate that the people do not have the means to speak against him, although many are actually in favor of the new government. It makes it difficult to grasp the dominant opinion of the nation without an anonymous survey, which have not been published. This seems to be yet another dictator hiding behind the rule of 'democracy'.
