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.
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.