Interim Malian Government to be Inaugurated
Mali will be under the leadership of a new interim government starting on September 25.
Following a military coup that led to the resignation of Former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in August, a provisional Malian government will take the rein on September 25.
An officer involved in the deposition of Keïta announced plans for an interim president on September 21. Bah N’Daou, a retired military officer and former defense minister, will serve as the transitional president of Mali until elections take place in 2022.
This news comes one month after the military coup on August 18 forced the resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and his government.
On the morning of August 18, the sound of gunshots echoed from a military base near the capital of Bamako while armored vehicles and tanks belonging to the Malian Armed Forces began lining the streets. The soldiers advanced into Bamako with ease and detained both President Keïta and his Prime Minister, Boubou Cissé.
During a brief televised statement on August 19, Keïta issued his resignation, stating, “I would like, while thanking the Malian people, to tell you my decision to resign from my functions with all the legal consequences: the dissolution of the National Assembly and that of the government.”
Following negotiations with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), the instigators released President Keïta after nine days of detention on August 27.
The coup occurred after three months of protests against Keïta’s handling of the ongoing Civil War, alleged corruption, and economic mismanagement. Tensions rose as the government responded with lethal force against protesters, including firing live rounds into crowds during July protests. Due to these stresses, the military junta had the popular support of Malian people during the August coup.
The mutiny in August also marks the second coup Mali has experienced in less than ten years. The previous coup, against President Amadou Toumani Touré in 2012, arose out of displeasure with the handling of the Tuareg rebellion, an early insurgencie in the Malian Civil War. These two coups mark the precarious nature of the governance in Mali during amidst an ongoing war.
The coup received condemnation from ECOWAS, the AU, and the UN Security Council. Following the coup, the AU voted to suspend Mali from the union, and ECOWAS imposed border restrictions, paused Mali’s membership, and threatened economic sanctions. Many international voices, however, had acknowledged the ineffectiveness of Keïta and opinionated support for the institution of a new leader of Mali.
A potential power vacuum greatly worries the international community. The 2012 Malian coup and its resulting political chaos allowed jihadists, some affiliated with Al Qaeda and ISIS, to expand and consolidate their foothold in the country, bringing illicit arms and human trafficking with them. Despite efforts, the jihadi threat has not ebated and continues to pose a serious security concern for the nation.