Madagascar’s Presidency Says Rajoelina Dissolves Parliament

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has dissolved the National Assembly and Senate with immediate effect, ratcheting up the political crisis in the Indian Ocean island nation after protesters demanded his resignation and he went into hiding.

“This decree shall enter into force immediately upon its publication by radio and/or television broadcast, regardless of its inclusion in the official journal of the republic,” Rajoelina said in a decree posted on the presidency’s social media pages on Tuesday. Opposition lawmakers had sought to convene the National Assembly to vote on his impeachment.