The 51-year-old president, who had resisted mounting pressure to resign amid weeks of street protests, reportedly went into hiding after dissolving the national assembly in a last-minute attempt to stop the impeachment proceedings.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, head of the CAPSAT military unit, confirmed the takeover in a statement read at a government building in the capital, Antananarivo.
“We have taken power,” he declared, adding that a committee composed of officers from the army, gendarmerie, and national police would temporarily perform the functions of the presidency.
Randrianirina noted that a civilian government would be established “after a few days” and hinted that senior civilian advisers may later join the committee.
The move came minutes after the lower house of parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, securing 130 votes — well above the two-thirds constitutional threshold required in the 163-member chamber.
The High Constitutional Court is now expected to validate the impeachment vote.
Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, announced Monday night that he was in a “safe space” following alleged attempts on his life.
Protests that began on September 25 intensified over the weekend as mutinous soldiers and security forces, including members of CAPSAT, joined demonstrators demanding the president’s resignation.
CAPSAT previously played a key role in the 2009 coup that initially brought Rajoelina to power.
