Mali: the junta sets a two-year deadline before a return of civilians to power – RFI

Published on: 06/06/2022 – 23:54Modified on: 06/07/2022 – 01:11 The decree signed by the head of the junta Colonel Assimi Goïta was read this Monday evening on Malian state television. A step forward because at the beginning of the year, the military planned to lead Mali for up to five years and ECOWAS adopted very harsh sanctions against Bamako. “The duration of the transition is set at 24 months, (from) March 26, 2022”, according to the decree signed by the leader of the junta Assimi Goïta and read on state television this Monday evening. The junta therefore gives itself until March 2024 to return power to civilians. The announcement surprised Bamako. Even government ministers have privately said they heard the news like everyone else on television. In the entourage of Colonel Assimi Goïta, the decree is justified: “We must go quickly so as not to waste time”, explains one of his advisers to RFI. “The duration of a 24-month transition, continues the same source, is already the basis of discussions with ECOWAS, and what the organization expects from us now are details on the timetable of activities leading up to the elections. On the side of ECOWAS, a manager said he was “surprised” by this announcement. The idea adopted after the summit is that the mediator in the Malian crisis, Goodluck Jonathan, meet with each other and propose a plan to end the crisis at the next summit scheduled for early July in Accra. “In announcing the 24 months, the Malian government is putting the carts before the horse,” commented a diplomat from an ECOWAS member country who added: “But you have to understand the Malian junta. She needs to bulge her chest to galvanize her rather embargo-weary public opinion. »