Leaders Of The Madagascar Opposition Affirm Rajoelina's Order To Disband The National Assembly Is Not Legal

Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko. (Source: Sitery.org)

JAKARTA - Opposition leaders in Madagascar's parliament said on Tuesday President Andry Rajoelina's order to dissolve the National Assembly was "legally illegal", after confrontation with protesters and the military forced him to leave the country.

The Madagascar Parliament is known to consist of two rooms, the National Assembly which has 151 seats and 18 Senate seats.

"This decision is illegal legally. The president of the National Assembly said he was not consulted," opposition leader Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko said.

Siteny's statement came after the presidency issued a decision stating the president had consulted with the leaders of the Assembly and the Senate before the disbandment.

Earlier, President Rajoelina dissolved the national assembly, which exacerbated tensions with demonstrators led by youth and military who forced him to leave the country.

In Facebook's upload, it said the president had consulted with the leaders of the Assembly and the Senate, but it was not clear whether the move had legal value.

Yesterday, Sitey said President Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday after several army units defected and joined the protesters.

A military source told Reuters President Rajoelina flew out of the country on a French military plane on Sunday.

French Radio RFI said President Rajoelina had reached an agreement with President Emmanuel Macron.

The source said a French Army Casa plane landed at Sainte Marie Madagascar Airport on Sunday.

"Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived and moved its passengers to Casa," the source said, adding President Rajoelina was the passenger.

Demonstrations erupted in the former French colony on September 25 due to water and electricity shortages. It quickly escalated to insurgency over wider complaints, including corruption, poor governance and lack of basic services.

President Rajoelina appears increasingly isolated after losing support from CAPSAT, the elite unit of the Madagascar armed forces that helped him seize power in the 2009 coup.

CAPSAT joined the demonstrators over the weekend, saying they refused to fire on them and escorted thousands of demonstrators in the main square of the capital Antanandarivo.

Then CAPSAT said it would take control of the military and appoint a new military commander, prompting President Rajoelina to warn on Sunday about efforts to seize power in the island nation off the southern African coast.

On Monday, thousands of people gathered in a square in the capital, chanting "the president must step down now".