The Madagascar opposition said on Saturday it had toppled the government of President Marc Ravalomanana and promised fresh elections following months of unrest that have left over 100 dead.
Rajoelina then called on Ravalomanana to ”humbly leave power in the next four hours”.
”The president of the Republic, the National Assembly and the Senate, and the government are removed from their duties,” said opposition leader Roindefo Zafitsimivalo Monja, reading from a declaration signed by opposition chief Andry Rajoelina.
”We commit to organising presidential, parliamentary and district elections, in not more than 24 months,” said Monja, the opposition’s nominee for the post of prime minister.
The power grab by the opposition, which has accused Ravalomanana of running a dictatorship, came after the president acknowledged making mistakes in a crisis that has claimed scores of lives since the start of the year.
Monja, who spoke to journalists from the prime minister’s office after the opposition took control of the building, was accompanied by other opposition ministerial nominees and around 30 soldiers.
”We state that the president of the republic is no longer in a position to exercise the role allocated to him by the Constitution and that it is clear the armed forces refuse to obey the president,” he added.
After being in hiding for over a week, Rajoelina on Saturday made his first public appearance at a gathering of several thousand supporters in the capital, an AFP journalist witnessed.
On Thursday followers of both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina took to the streets to press their campaigns following weeks of mounting tension which began in January after Rajoelina called anti-government protests.
The military on the vast Indian Ocean island remained on standby, vowing it would seek to maintain order without any political agenda.
Last month, the presidential guard opened fire on opposition protesters marching on one of Ravalomanana’s offices, killing 28 and wounding some 200. The carnage drew international condemnation and caused deep dismay among the country’s security establishment.
Rajoelina, who set up a parallel administration last month as part of his strategy to destabilise the government, had been under UN protection since evading arrest last week.
He had demanded Ravalomanana’s resignation and the formation of a full transitional government, but the president vowed to continue in power until the end of his term in 2011.
On Tuesday, the army chief of staff issued an ultimatum giving the feuding politicians three days to resolve their differences or face a military takeover.
But in a surprise move, military leaders replaced General Edmond Rasolofomahandry with a colonel, Andre Andriarijaona, who took a tough stance against Ravalomanana. — Sapa-AFP