Organisers of Madagascar's youth-led anti-government protests suspended marches in the capital Antananarivo on Thursday for 24 hours, citing concerns over demonstrators' health and strength.

Still, marches continued in other parts of the large island nation.

Inspired by similar youth-led "Gen Z" protests in Kenya and Nepal, the rallies mark the largest wave of unrest in Madagascar in years and pose a significant challenge to President Andry Rajoelina, who was re-elected in 2023.

The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured so far in the week-long protests. The government rejects those figures.

"This is not a retreat but a strategy: we will come back together more united, stronger," Gen Z Madagascar, the protest movement's main leadership, said in a Facebook post, announcing the temporary suspension of protests in Antananarivo.

A government spokesperson did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

PUBLIC ANGER OVER WATER SHORTAGES, POWER CUTS

Rajoelina dissolved the government late on Monday, but the move has failed to quell public anger, which first erupted last week in the capital over worsening water shortages and power cuts.

The protesters are demanding Rajoelina's resignation and the dissolution of the election commission, the upper chamber Senate, and the country's top court.

Protests continued outside the capital on Thursday, with hundreds marching in Toliara, some 925 km (575 miles) south of Antananarivo, chanting "Rajoelina Out" and carrying banners denouncing the president, footage aired by privately-owned Radio Télévision Siteny showed.

In Diego Suarez, 950 km (590 miles) north of the capital, protesters were also marching under police escort, according to privately-owned media outlet Fitaproduction.

Reliant on agriculture and tourism, the Indian Ocean nation remains one of Africa's poorest.

ENTRENCHED POVERTY, UNACCOUNTABLE ELITES

Since Madagascar won independence from France in 1960, income per capita had fallen by 45% by 2020, according to the World Bank, which blames the poor economic performance on tight control of the economy and government by a small, unaccountable elite and on a lack of competition and transparency.

Some demonstrators have carried flags depicting a grinning skull wearing a straw hat, in reference to a pirate flag from a Japanese manga that has become a popular symbol among young protesters around the world.

"The protests are not merely about utilities or governance failures; they are a rejection of a political order that has remained fundamentally unchanged for decades," Ketakandriana Rafitoson, the global vice-chair of Transparency International, wrote in a briefing on the crisis.

"Elite networks continue to capture state institutions, siphon public resources, and weaponise poverty to maintain control," wrote Rafitoson, who is also Malagasy.

The Senate convened on Thursday to discuss potential nominees for the post of prime minister after failing to reach a consensus on a candidate during earlier deliberations.