Randrianirina faces power-consolidation claims after 1 year

Madagascar President Michael Randrianirina consolidated military power in his first year after a coup, The Africa Report said in an Oct. 30, 2026 viewpoint.

The assessment matters because it links rights concerns to public-service strain: health received 6% of the 2026 national budget, about $5 per person, roughly 50 times below international standards, the article said.

The viewpoint said Randrianirina’s administration has used legal tools to restrict civic space, suppress dissent and direct anti-corruption efforts against opponents. It said the grievances that drew thousands of Gen Z protesters into the streets, including chronic water and electricity shortages and endemic corruption, remain unresolved.

The article said at least 20 people remain arbitrarily detained for politically motivated reasons, naming former presidential candidates Sylvain Rabetsaroana and Paul Rabary Andrianirina. It also said at least nine Gen Z leaders were arrested in April over WhatsApp messages or exchanges with an opposition figure or whistleblower.

The Africa Report viewpoint said Madagascar risks repeating a pattern of political repression unless external pressure increases. “Without clear regional and international pressure, Madagascar risks falling again into a familiar cycle of authoritarian practices used to silence dissent and entrench power,” it said.

Randrianirina came to power after Gen Z protests in September and October 2025, according to the article. The viewpoint said extensive video footage showed soldiers, police and gendarmes shooting at protesters and bystanders during those demonstrations, killing and injuring people, and said no investigations followed.

The article said Randrianirina ordered the Court of Accounts to audit public funds from 2022 to 2025. It said the audits identified hundreds of millions of dollars lost to corruption and mismanagement, but alleged that the administration has used the findings against political opponents rather than pursue investigations.

The viewpoint also said the administration elevated four senior gendarmerie and army officials to the level of “head of state” without constitutional grounds, and placed current or former public-security officials in government posts. It said some appointments were based on polygraph examinations rather than legal institutional processes.

A further concern is surveillance. The article said the government proposed a cybercrime law in August that would expand monitoring of online activity and require people criticising the government to support their views with proof. It said authorities have not passed a law guaranteeing access to information.

The viewpoint said “the cybercrime law would allow the state to have permanent access to telecommunications data of individuals, without judicial oversight and in contravention of the right to privacy.” It also said critics attempting to engage regional and international bodies have faced harassment and travel restrictions.

The article did not include a response from Randrianirina’s administration to the allegations. It identified one specific case at Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo, saying Gabriella Ranjamalalasoa, wife of a detained activist, was stopped from travelling to the African Commission of Human and People’s Rights and had her passport confiscated.