An alleged coup d'état attempt occurred in
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
on November 18, 2006, during the lead-up to the December 3
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
, when retired army General
Andrianafidisoa
Andrianafidisoa, popularly known as Fidy (died 6 October 2021), was a military general of the Army of Madagascar and a Director of the National Mines and Strategic Industries Office (OMNIS)."Eight presidential candidates offer support to renegade ...
, also known as Fidy (and a previous Director General of
OMNIS {{other uses, Omnis (disambiguation)
OMNIS (Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Stratégiques, formerly known as Office Militaire National pour les Industries Stratégiques) is the Malagasy government organisation, operating under the aus ...
), declared
military rule.
["Attempted "coup" fizzles in desire for peaceful poll"]
IRIN, November 20, 2006.
According to judicial authorities, Andrianafidisoa was not allowed to run for president after failing to pay a 25 million
ariary
The ariary (currency sign, sign: Ar; ISO 4217 code MGA) is the currency of Madagascar. It is notionally subdivided into 5 ''iraimbilanja'' and is one of only two non-decimal currencies currently circulating (the other is the ''Mauritanian ouguiya' ...
(US$11,400) deposit.
Fidy had previously supported the incumbent
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Marc Ravalomanana
Marc Ravalomanana (; born 12 December 1949) is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. Born into a farming Merina family in Imerinkasinina, near the capital city of Antananarivo, Ravalomanana first rose to ...
in his successful claim to the presidency in the wake of the disputed 2001 presidential election.
[
]
Coup events
General Fidy declared military rule and set up a base near the Ivato Airport
Ivato International Airport is the main international airport serving Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, located northwest of the city centre. Ivato Airport is the main hub for Air Madagascar and is located in the commune of Ivato.
...
in the capital, Antananarivo
Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...
. There were police reports of shooting early in the morning of November 18, and that one soldier was killed and another wounded. President Ravalomanana was returning from France during the incident and his plane was diverted from Antananarivo to Mahajanga
Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar. The city of Mahajanga (Mahajanga I) is the capital of the Boeny Region. The district (identical to the city) had a population of 220,629 i ...
instead.
Aftermath
On November 19, 2006 the government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
said it was searching for General Fidy, and dozens of soldiers were stationed outside his house. Secretary of State for Public Security, Lucien Victor Razakanirina, told Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
, "We issued a wanted poster for General Fidy for an attack on state security. We went to arrest General Fidy, but he was no longer at his house. He is very mobile." Fidy told Reuters via telephone, "I am alive and I am not in hiding. Soldiers and politicians have got the message." He would not disclose his location.[ On November 22, Fidy received the backing of most of the 14 presidential candidates, who said he was defending the constitution and the interests of the nation. After the elections were held on December 3, the government unsuccessfully attempted to arrest one of these candidates, ]