By
Boureima Balima, NIAMEY Niger
West
Africa’s regional leaders have given the military junta in Mali until September
15 to name a transitional president and a Prime Minister, according to a
statement read at the end of a summit on Monday.The military rulers who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita say they will step down after a transition period
The heads of state of the
15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said the president
and prime minister, who will lead the transitional government, should be
civilians.
The bloc, seeking to keep
pressure on the junta, maintained sanctions it had placed on Mali, but welcomed
steps taken by the junta in the past week to start talks with Mali’s political
parties and civil society groups over the transition.
The ECOWAS union has closed its
borders with landlocked Mali and halted financial flows amid concerns from some
West African leaders the military coup could undermine their power and
democratic gains in the region.
A group of army colonels has
ruled Mali since ousting President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18.
No consensus has yet been reached
on the make-up and duration of a transitional government ahead of promised
elections.
ECOWAS is calling for a swift return to civilian rule and a vote within a year, a timeline the junta, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), has not committed to.
ECOWAS Commission President
Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, said both the president and prime minister must be
appointed by September 15 at the latest.
Talks in the capital Bamako about
the transition period got off to a bumpy start on Saturday, when supporters of
the influential M5-RFP political coalition accused the junta of side-lining
them.
International powers fear
continued political turmoil will further destabilise Mali and undermine a joint
fight against Islamist militants in the wider Sahel region.
The junta’s negotiations, which
are also being held in regional capitals across Mali, will continue later this
week.
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