On 13 October, Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina announced that he had fled from the country on 12 October after the Corps of Administrators and Personnel of Administrative and Technical Services (CAPSAT/Corps des Administrateurs et des Personnels des Services Administratifs et Techniques) mutinied and joined anti-Rajoelina protests that had been raging across the country since 25 September. He also stated that he refused to step down and called on the people of Madagascar to avoid falling under another military junta.

However, at 15:18 Malagasy time on 14 October, the National Assembly of Madagascar voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina. 131 of the 163 Members of Parliament (MPs) voted to remove him from office. A full list of those in attendance has not been published yet, but several of Rajoelina’s closest allies in the National Assembly – including MP for Antananarivo’s 5th Arrondissement Naivo Raholdina and MP for Antananarivo-Atsimodrano Andrianiony Ratsivahinisolo – fled the country this weekend.

However, this development is a surprising turnaround. The Malagasy government was composed of 84 members of the Together with Andry Rajoelina coalition (IRMAR/Isika Rehetra Miaraka amin’ny Andry Rajoelina), 45 Independents, and one member of the Malagasy Green Party (AMHM/Antoko Maitso Hasin’i Madagasikara). The opposition consisted of 22 members of the Unity coalition (FIR/Firaisankina), five Independents, four members of the Grassroots Transformation party (FIVOI/Fiovana Ivoaran'ny eny Ifotony), one member of the Malagasy Collective (KOL/Kôlekitifa an’ny Malagasy), and one member of the Group of Young People for Malagasy Prosperity (GJMP/Groupement des Jeunes pour Madagascar Prospère). Thus, 98 MPs, who had been loyal to Rajoelina on paper at the beginning of the month, voted to have him removed from office. Of those, at least 52 had to be members of the IRMAR, representing around 62% of MPs who ran as members of Rajoelina’s formal coalition in last year's Legislative Elections.

At 15:45, Rajoelina announced from hiding that the impeachment was illegal as he had enacted Article 60 of the Malagasy Constitution (2010) and dissolved the National Assembly. However, the Vice-President of the National Assembly, Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, said that the declaration had not been properly filed and that the President of the National Assembly, Justin Tokely, had not been consulted on the decision.

At 16:54, Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced that CAPSAT had captured the Presidential Ambohitsorohitra Palace on the northern banks of Lake Anosy. Randrianirina stated that the Malagasy Constitution (2010) would be suspended, as would the Senate, the High Constitutional Court (HCC/Haute Cour Constitutionnelle), the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI/Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante), the High Court of Justice (CSJ/Cour Supérieure de Justice), and the High Council for the Defence of Democracy (HCSDD/Haut Conseil pour la Défense de la Démocratie). These institutions have all been packed with Rajoelina loyalists and allegedly conspired to engage in a series of abuses of power, which rendered Madagascar’s Constitution (2010) unfeasible. However, the National Assembly would remain in session as the country’s legislature, a new “Transitional Government” would be created (effectively a new Council of Ministers), and a High Court of Renovation to take over from the allegedly corrupt HCC and CSJ. The Transitional Government will be led by a Joint Committee (Fiadiadiana Iombonana ho an’y Fanavazoana). It is unclear at this time who the members of the Joint Committee and the Transitional Government will be.

Nevertheless, the move appears to be popular with the Gen Z Mada demonstrators – a group of youths who have dominated the protests since 25 September. When Randrianirina addressed a crowd of demonstrators in Antananarivo in the morning of 14 October, he asked if they were ready for a military takeover, to which they responded with applause and cheers. This should not come as a surprise. In a poll taken by the Collective of Citizens and Civic Organisations (CCOC/Collectif des Citoyens et des Organisations Citoyennes) in March, only around 47% of the population of Antananarivo approved of the government, while 52% approved of the military. Since then, support for Rajoelina and the IRMAR government has dwindled.