The political crisis in Madagascar is turning into an institutional showdown. Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina, challenged in the streets but clinging to power, dissolved the National Assembly on Tuesday ahead of a vote targeting him for abandoning his post.

Weakened by the rallying of the military this weekend to the protests that have engulfed the country and now taking refuge in an unknown location, the head of state ruled out any resignation the day before, calling for "respect for the Constitution" during his first on-screen appearance since this about-turn.

Elected in 2018, then re-elected in 2023 for a five-year term in a vote boycotted by the opposition, Andry Rajoelina was under threat of a vote targeting him for "temporary impediment" which required a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly.

"In accordance with the provisions of Article 60 of the Constitution, the National Assembly is dissolved," states a decree posted on the presidency's Facebook page, the authenticity of which was confirmed to AFP by the president's entourage.

"This choice is necessary to restore order within our nation and strengthen democracy," he justified in a message on social networks that followed.

Opposition MPs claimed to have collected enough signatures to hold a vote during an extraordinary session on Tuesday, which they justified by a power vacuum, as the head of state had left the country on Sunday aboard a French military plane, according to French radio station RFI.

Thousands of protesters

This weekend, a military unit, Capsat, which played a major role in the 2009 coup that brought Andry Rajoelina to power following a popular mobilization, called on security forces to "refuse to shoot" at the demonstrators, before joining them in the center of the capital.

Most of the armed forces have since followed suit and renewed their chain of command, including the gendarmerie, previously at the forefront of the repression of demonstrations.

At least 22 people were killed at the start of the protests and more than 100 injured, according to a United Nations report.

According to the Constitution, legislative elections must be held "at least sixty days and at most ninety days after the pronouncement of the dissolution" of the Assembly.

Uncertainty is growing even more prevalent in this very poor island in the Indian Ocean, where thousands of protesters gathered again on Tuesday in Antananarivo.

As has been the case since September 25, these are young people mobilized by the Gen Z collective, now joined by civil servants called to strike by several unions and protesters of all generations.

Anti-French signs have also flourished, an AFP team observed in the Malagasy capital. "Get out of here, France," "Get out of here, Rajoelina and Macron," read the slogans.

"I am not confirming anything today," French President Emmanuel Macron had replied the day before to a question about the exfiltration of Andry Rajoelina.

Madagascar, an island with a very poor population, has a long history of popular uprisings followed by the establishment of transitional military governments.

At least 80% of Madagascar's 32 million people live on less than 15,000 ariary per day (2.80 euros), the World Bank's poverty line.