Mali: 18-month transition government agreed as talks close
Mali's military government has pushed through a political charter to establish an 18-month transition government that could lead to the appointment of a soldier as interim president, despite objections from the coalition that led anti-government protests before last month's coup.
Approval for the road map, meant to chart the country's
course after the August 18 coup that toppled 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 a fight against armed groups across West Africa's Sahel region,
have pushed for a swift transition back to civilian rule.
The charter says the interim president can be a civilian or
a soldier and will preside over a transitional period of 18 months before
elections are held, said Moussa Camara, the spokesman for the talks.
The interim president will be selected by electors chosen by
the military government, Camara said.
A previous draft of the charter had said the transition
would last two years and the interim president would be directly chosen by the
military rulers, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP).
"We make a commitment before you to spare no effort in
the implementation of all these resolutions in the exclusive interest of the
Malian people," CNSP president Colonel Assimi Goita said on Saturday.
"What awaits us now is the hard work, the
implementation of these resolutions."
Collision course
Even as some participants touted the consensual nature of
the talks, the M5-RFP coalition that spearheaded protests against Keita before
the coup criticised the charter's failure to ensure civilian rule of the
transition.
"It's the people who overthrew IBK. It's up to them to
choose the new president," said Youssouf Maiga, an M5-RFP supporter,
referring to Keita by his initials.
The charter also puts the military government on a collision
course with Mali's West African neighbours, who have insisted the interim
president be a civilian and the transition last no longer than one year.
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