Beginning in January 2009, Andry Rajoelina led a series of political rallies in downtown Antananarivo. On 13 January, he launched an ultimatum to the government to restore "Viva TV". A week later, the transmission failure message of "Viva TV" was changed by a background picture of Andry Rajoelina, which led the authorities to seize the channel's transistor manu militari. On 17 January, Andry Rajoelina gathered 30,000 supporters at a public park which he renamed "Place de la Démocratie" to defy the public executive power of Ravalomanana. At a rally on 31 January 2009, Rajoelina announced that he was in charge of the country's affairs, declaring: "Since the president and the government have not assumed their responsibilities, I therefore proclaim that I will run all national affairs as of today." He added that a request for President Ravalomanana to formally resign would shortly be filed with the Parliament of Madagascar. This self-declaration of power discredited Rajoelina's democratic aims, and the number of attendees at subsequent rallies declined, averaging around 3,000 to 5,000 participants.