Madagascar president holds talks despite protesters' boycott

Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina invited various groups from civil society to hold talks in the presidential palace on Wednesday. 

The initiative was an attempt to regain control and ease the country’s crisis amid a nationwide protest movement that has been ongoing since 25 September. 

Over 1,500 people responded to the call, including high representatives of the church, university presidents, students, youth associations, entrepreneurs, companies affected by looting, unions, medical personnel, teachers, athletes, artists and journalists.

Rajoelina assured he would resign if power outages continued in Antananarivo in a year’s time. 

"I swear before God," he told the crowd. "I ask you for one year! I will succeed!"

To complete his promise, the president is relying on several ongoing projects, including the commissioning of a 105-megawatt thermal power plant, 100 megawatts of solar parks, and the arrival of 60 megawatts worth of generators.

"We will even transport [the generators] by plane if necessary, so that there will be no more outages here in Antananarivo and throughout Madagascar," he said.

Meanwhile, protests were ongoing in the streets of the capital throughout the day.

Junior doctors demonstrated and began a strike to demand better working conditions, while Gen Z protesters refused the president’s invitation and called for a general strike this Thursday. Several media outlets also boycotted the meeting.