Malian opposition rejects postponement of elections in new transition plan | News

The coalition, which represents several political parties, faces a five-year extension of the democratic transition.

A large coalition of Mali’s political parties has rejected a military-dominated government intending to prolong a transition a five-year term until the country returns to democratic rule.

The coalition, known as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), said in a statement on Sunday that the “unilateral and unreasonable” calendar violated the transitional charter “and cannot be profound in any way.” The people of Mali ”.

“[We] I reserve the right to use all legal means to ensure that attempts to confiscate power by force and fraud are not the result of a long struggle and many sacrifices, ”added the CNSP, which represents about 10 parties.

The transitional government initially agreed to hold presidential and legislative elections in February 2022, in between. pressure From the regional bloc of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop presented the new plans to ECOWAS on Saturday, following a national reform conference boycotted by political parties and social organizations.

The plan envisages extending the transition period from six months to five years, starting on January 1 and ending the 18-month transition government commitment.

ECOWAS, which has threatened to impose further sanctions on Mali’s military government for delaying the election, will hold an extraordinary summit on Mali in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on January 9th.

Colonel Assimi Goita has been effectively leading Mali since ousting former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020, after alleged street protests and street protests by the government against armed groups for years.

Under pressure from the former French colonial power and the people of Mali, Goita promised to return to civilian power in Mali after the presidential and legislative elections in February this year.

But he de facto staged a second coup in May 2021, after Keita was removed from office when he stepped down as interim president and took office. Goita initially promised that the February elections would be held as planned, but the government has mentioned the continuing insecurity in northern Mali in its decision to postpone the elections.

Much of the country’s territory remains out of government control, with self-defense militias and armed men affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIL) opposing it. violence against civilians and soldiers.

Violence, in which ideologically driven armed groups have been fighting for power, has sparked ethnic tensions, spreading to neighboring countries in Niger and Burkina Faso, destabilizing the vast Sahel region and leaving a huge humanitarian crisis.

France has thousands of troops deployed across the Sahel to fight armed groups, but this has been the case diminishing its presence Nearly nine years after military intervention in northern Mali.