Madagascar's former opposition leader sworn in as president
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
- 7 November 2009: Madagascar political rivals agree to unity government deal
- 22 March 2009: Madagascar's former opposition leader sworn in as president
- 17 March 2009: Madagascar President resigns, unclear rule in Antananarivo
- 16 March 2009: Coup in Madagascar; opposition leader backs army
- 14 July 2008: 13 missing from ship off coast of Madagascar; two rescued
Andry Rajoelina, who ousted Madagascan ex-president President Marc Ravalomanana earlier this week, officially became the leader of the country, after being sworn in on Saturday.
National television broadcast the inauguration, which occurred at a soccer field in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Tens of thousands of people attended the event, although approximately 2,000 supporters of Ravalomanana held protests in the capital's Democracy Square.
“We proclaim today the end of the dictatorship,” said the new president, promising to tackle corruption that was rife under Ravalomanana.
Earlier this week, then-president Ravalomanana gave up his power to military forces, which subsequently gave Rajoelina control over the government. Rajoelina was the former mayor of Antananarivo.
Many foreign powers, among them the United States and France, have denounced the change in leadership as a coup. Norway and the US have both frozen all non-humanitarian aid to Madagascar, whilst the African Union suspended Madagascar's membership. The South African Development Community (SADC) stated that it "completely rejected the legitimacy" of the new president.
Related news
- "Madagascar President resigns, unclear rule in Antananarivo". Wikinews, March 17, 2009
- "Coup in Madagascar; opposition leader backs army". Wikinews, March 16, 2009
Sources
- "Madagascar's leader is sworn in". BBC News Online, March 21, 2009
- "Former opposition leader becomes Madagascar's president". CNN, March 21, 2009
- Tom Burgis "Rajoelina sworn in as Magadascar PM". Financial Times, March 21, 2009
 Share this: |
 |
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age. |
