At the end of September 2025, Madagascar entered a period of political turmoil that led to a political transition. The events began with the arrest of three city councillors on 19 September 2025, in front of the Senate building in Anosikely, following their protests against recurring power outages and water cuts. Young people subsequently joined the protests by taking to the streets of the capital on September 2025, and the movement then spread to other provinces. The claims initially focused on water shortages, power cuts, and the rising cost of living, before expanding to include calls for better governance and the fight against corruption. The protests brought together thousands of young people, while many citizens joined them across the country. They intensified after the security forces, particularly the gendarmerie, responded with violent repression. The forces of law and order violently suppressed the protesters on site, by using weapons as well. Part of the Army denounced the violence, sided with the protesters, and announced that it had seized power. The President of the Republic then made his escape.
On 14 October 2025, the Constitutional High Court declared the positions of President of the Republic and President of the Senate vacant, then appointed Colonel Michaël Randrianirina as Head of State. On 17 October 2025, he was invested as President of the Reformation of the Republic of Madagascar, marking the beginning of a transition led by the Army.
The President of the Reformation appointed the Prime Minister on 20 October 2025. On 28 October 2025, he established the new government, composed of 29 ministers, with the creation of a ministry in charge of the Reformation.
The current political transition has raised concerns about democratic accountability and respect of the rule of law. Civil society organisations have expressed concerns about the military takeover, given the lack of clear guarantees regarding the duration and terms of the transition.
It is interesting to note that, despite popular attachment to democratic ideals, 53% of citizens declared in 2024 that they preferred democracy to any other system. This contradiction between democratic aspirations and weak governance illustrates the hybrid nature of Malagasy democracy: elections exist, but institutions struggle to guarantee transparency, the Rule of law, and good governance.
Madagascar faces persistent socioeconomic vulnerabilities that directly influence the work of civil society. According to the World Bank, poverty levels remain among the highest in the world, and low levels of public investment in basic services exacerbate inequalities between urban and rural areas. Communities affected by mining projects, environmental degradation, or land conflicts rely heavily on civil society organisations (CSOs) as intermediaries to voice their concerns. This situation creates additional responsibilities for organisations, whose resources are already limited. One example is the Research and Support Center for Development Alternatives – Indian Ocean (RSCDA-IO), an organisation committed to promoting sustainable development alternatives focused on the realization of human rights, which filed an international complaint against a mining company in January 2025. This approach follows concerns raised by the local population regarding the perceived impacts of the mining project, which threaten their health, resources, and environment. Furthermore, funding opportunities remain scarce and unpredictable, particularly for small community groups and youth-led initiatives. In this regard, the second civil society forum, held in July 2025, provided a space for discussion and exchange on these issues.
Despite these constraints, civil society has demonstrated a strong capacity for adaptation and innovation. Networks of organisations are increasingly collaborating to monitor public governance, support whistleblowers, provide legal assistance, and strengthen community participation in decision-making processes, as in the case of Nosy Sakatia in April 2025, developed by the MALINA network of journalists. The emergence of new youth movements, forms of digital activism such as the iParticipate Ndao i-Kozy platform launched in July 2025 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Madagascar, and sectoral coalitions illustrates a dynamic civic landscape capable of mobilizing citizens and creating pressure for reform. To ensure sustainability to these efforts, targeted support will be needed to strengthen organisational resilience, consolidate mechanisms for protecting human rights defenders, and expand opportunities for constructive engagement with public institutions.
Enabling principles scores
