President Andry Rajoelina, who first took power in a coup, is bashing aside opposition protesters in search of another term.

The Malagasy people will, on 16 November, go to elections amid growing demonstrations by the opposition that are putting the country on a knife edge. President Andry Rajoelina is seeking a third term, though political upheavals over the past 14 years - which restarted the constitutional clock - would make this his second consecutive term.

Rajoelina came to power in a military coup that toppled elected president Marc Ravalomanana in 2009. Rajoelina and Ravalomanana were pressured by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) not to run in the 2013 polls. Rajoelina returned to win the 2018 elections, which means if he wins on 16 November, he could hold the top office for 14 years.

The polls have already been marred by several controversies over which Rajoelina has typically ridden roughshod. Last month the constitutional court dismissed an attempt to disqualify him from the presidency after it was revealed that he held dual Malagasy-French citizenship. This appeared to violate the law.

Rajoelina's blithe response was that he had sought and obtained French citizenship in 2014 because he had then been ruled out of politics and needed French nationality so his children could attend school in France. Who could object...