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Mali’s military government has pushed for a political letter to establish an 18-month transitional government that could lead to the appointment of a soldier as interim president, despite objections from the coalition that led the anti-government protests before the coup. last month.
The approval of the road map, aimed at charting the country’s course after the August 18 coup that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, came on Saturday after three days of negotiations between the military government, political leaders and civil society groups.
International powers, fearful that political instability will undermine the fight against armed groups in the Sahel region of West Africa, have pushed for a rapid transition back to civilian rule.
The letter says the interim president can be a civilian or a soldier and will preside over an 18-month transition period before the elections are held, said Moussa Camara, a spokesman for the talks.
The interim president will be selected by electors chosen by the military governmentCamara said.
An earlier draft of the letter said that the transition would last two years and that the interim president would be elected directly by the military rulers, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP).
“We pledge to you to spare no effort in the implementation of all these resolutions in the exclusive interest of the people of Mali,” CNSP President Colonel Assimi Goita said on Saturday.
“What awaits us now is hard work, the implementation of these resolutions.”
Collision course
Even when some participants touted the consensual nature of the talks, the M5-RFP coalition that led protests against Keita before the coup criticized the failure of the letter to guarantee civilian rule of the transition.
“It’s the people who toppled IBK. It is up to them to choose the new president,” said Youssouf Maiga, a supporter of M5-RFP, referring to Keita by his initials.
The letter also puts the military government on a collision course with Mali’s West African neighbors, who have insisted that the interim president be a civilian and that the transition last no more than a year.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which imposed economic sanctions after the coup, will meet Tuesday to discuss the situation in Mali.
It was unclear whether the interim president would be appointed before Tuesday’s ECOWAS deadline. The agency has not said what it will do if its demands are not met.
Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Abuja, Nigeria, said Mali needs sanctions lifted as it suffers from serious economic and social problems.
“And people will see how the new transitional government will address the deteriorating security situation in Mali, not only from armed groups in the north, but also from inter-ethnic violence between herders and farmers in central Mali,” he said .
Six civilians, including a pregnant woman, were killed in southern Mali when the ambulance they were traveling in struck a landmine, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
It was not clear who was responsible for laying the mine, but Friday’s incident represented a first in the southern Sikasso region, Mama Coumare, secretary general of the ministry, told Reuters news agency.
Idris said Saturday’s deal was fragile and that the reaction of ordinary Malians over the next few days could be crucial.
“Some are suggesting that Malians are weary of the situation, weary of the protests, that they will not tolerate any problems or deficiencies presented to them after this forum,” he said.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
