ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 17 — The African Union (AU) Commission has announced that it will send a high-level delegation to Madagascar amid ongoing political instability in the island nation. The announcement followed decisions adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council on the situation of Madagascar, an AU statement said Thursday. At the meetings of the AU council, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf underscored the urgency of concerted diplomatic efforts to promote genuine and constructive dialogue among Malagasy stakeholders, including the authorities, political parties, civil society, youth representatives, and other actors, with a view to facilitating a peaceful return to constitutional democratic order, the statement said. It said that in coordination with the Southern African Development Community, the commission will also dispatch members of the Panel of the Wise and a special envoy to Antananarivo in the coming days. These AU-led diplomatic engagements are aimed at supporting the launch of an inclusive, Malagasy-owned, and civilian-led national dialogue and consultations conducive to restoring stability, strengthening social cohesion, and upholding constitutional governance, the statement said. According to the statement, the AU Commission chairperson urged all Malagasy stakeholders to engage, in good faith, in a spirit of compromise and national unity, toward a peaceful and consensual resolution of the current political situation. Michael Randrianirina, a Malagasy military officer, was sworn in on Friday as the president of Madagascar at the country’s Constitutional High Court. On Tuesday, Randrianirina announced that state power in Madagascar has been taken over, saying that the decision followed “the observation of non-compliance with the constitution and the flouting of human rights.”
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