Mali’s Junta leader Assimi Goita to be sworn in as president after the coup

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:58 am

Mali’s military-led by Col Assimi Goita led a coup in the country & detained the interim leadership

Amid the ongoing political chaos, the head of Mali’s junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, is all set to be sworn in as the new president of the West African country. Days after detaining President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane of Mali’s interim government, Colonel Goita declared himself interim president of the country

On Friday, Mali’s constitutional court ruled that Col Goïta should take office as interim president in order to lead the country’s transition process to its conclusion.

Removing the transitional leadership from power, Col Goita accused Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane of sabotaging the administration and appointing a new cabinet without his consultation. The coup took placeon May 24 hours after President Bah Ndaw announced a government reshuffle leaving two military soldiers out of the cabinet. Notably, this is the second coup led by Col Goita in the country in under a year. Earlier in August 2020, he led a coup forcing elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta out of office.

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In September 2020, Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane were sworn into the transitional government after the military junta handed over the powerto the leadership after international pressure.

Furthermore, Goita is expected to appoint Choguel Kokalla Maiga as hisprime minister. A member of the M5 protest movement, Kokalla Maiga helped Goita remove former president Keita from power last year.

Rejecting coercion and forced resignations, the United Nations and African Union last week called for an immediate and unconditional release of the civilian leadership of the country. In addition, West African regional bloc ECOWAS, the United States, France, and the UK, among other world economies also issued a statement condemning the recent coup.

Last week, France suspended joint military operations with Mali until the military guarantees a return of civilian rule in the country. At the same time, ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) have suspended Mali’s membership from the bodies. The AU’s Peace and Security Council also threatened targeted sanctions if “an unimpeded, transparent and swift return to the civilian-led transition” takes place in Mali.

“The suspension from ECOWAS takes immediate effect until the deadline of the end of February 2022 when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government,” said Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey after an ECOWAS summit in Accra.

In line with international calls, the interim government had vowed to reform the country’s constitution by October 2021 and organise fresh elections in February 2022.