By John Ikani
In what may signal that sanctions by ECOWAS are biting, Mali junta has ordered a review of the 2025 date for return to civil rule.
Junta leader Assimi Goita asked lawmakers to review the transitional charter adopted after the first of two military coups that have upended the country’s regional standing and relationships.
Adopted following the coup that ousted late former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020, the transition charter expires this month and was supposed to pave the way for a return to civilian rule.
The decision to review the transitional charter, which a spokesperson for Goita announced on state television late on Friday, could satisfy some of Mali’s allies if it leads to new election dates being set.
ECOWAS – the Economic Community of West African States – said on Wednesday that Mali had yet to present an acceptable path to return to constitutional order, but that doing so could lead to the easing of sanctions it slammed on the nation.
Mali blamed the sanctions for its default on more than $31 million of bond payments this week.
The West African nation is also not in good terms with its French colonial masters as it recently expelled the French ambassador in the country.
France maintains a large military force in Mali’s desert north to combat Islamist insurgents, but their presence has been threatened by the arrival of Russian mercenaries and military trainers, who have been well received by the Malian public.
