Malian putschists prolong the transition and seek a place in the interim government

The national dialogue between the military junta, which took power in Mali following the coup d'état of 18 August, and the country's political forces agreed on an 18-month transition plan that leaves the door open to the military to lead the interim government.

The spokesman for the national dialogue, Moussa Camara, explained that this transition plan, drawn up after three days of negotiations, begins with the appointment of an interim president and his vice-president by a council elected by the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP, a military body), which carried out the coup against former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

"Any candidate for the post of transitional president or vice-president must be a Malian of origin and nationality, civilian or military, between 35 and 70 years of age (...)," Camara said.

The document has left open the possibility of a military man leading the transition, something that is rejected by the largest opposition group to the previous regime, the M5-RFP, and the Community of West African States (ECOWAS, the regional body to which Mali belongs), which furthermore requires that the next stage last less than a year.

In its first talks with ECOWAS envoys after the coup, the military junta suggested a three-year transition.

Political parties, trade unions, professional and press groups, representatives of the regions and civil society actors, as well as representatives of Malians living abroad, took part in the dialogue that ended in the last few hours.

Also taking part were members of the opposition group M5-RFP, a key player in the struggle against the previous regime and openly supporting the coup, among whom was the prominent religious leader Imam Mahmoud Dicko, as well as representatives of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

The participants also agreed on the restoration of defence and security throughout Malian territory, the promotion of good governance, the refounding of the education system, political and institutional reform, the adoption of a social stability pact and the holding of general elections.

According to the document signed, the interim leader will appoint a 25-member transitional government, led by a prime minister appointed by the president of the transition.

The roadmap also provides for the formation of a legislative body called the "National Transition Council", composed of 121 members representing the various national forces that participated in the dialogue that ended on Saturday.

The transition document does not at any time cite the inter-Malian peace agreement, initialled in 2015 in Algiers between the government and the Tuareg armed groups in the north of the country such as the CMA, which had asked that the conclusions of that agreement govern relations between the coordinator and the coup leaders.

Following the adoption of the transition document, members of the M5-RFP were seen celebrating victory in the corridors of the National Conference Centre in the capital Bamako, where the national dialogue sessions were held, chaired by the president of the CNSP, Colonel Assimi Goita.

However, M5-RFP leader Kadiatou Sow expressed her discontent that, in her opinion, the draft roadmap had not taken into consideration all the demands of her group, but in the end she accepted the final conclusions of the dialogue.

According to the observers in Bamako, the military junta in Mali, after winning internal support for the transition plan, is waiting for the reaction of ECOWAS and the international powers to the content of the roadmap resulting from the national dialogue.