Following the coup d'état of August 18 that ended Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's mandate, the former defence minister takes power by decision of the African country's military leadership

Ba N’Daou named interim Mali president by the military junta

photo_camera PHOTO/ORTM TV vía AP - The head of Mali's military junta, Colonel Assimi Goita

The transition designed by the military junta that took over the leadership of Mali following the coup d'état that overthrew former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita continues with the appointment of Ba N'Daou, a former defence minister and retired colonel, as the new national president.  

A group of 17 officials selected by the Malian military leadership appointed Ba N'Daou as interim president of the nation on Monday and Colonel Assimi Goita, one of the visible heads of the military intervention in the national institutions, as vice-president.  

This was announced in an official statement made by Goita himself on Mali's national television and N'Daou was revealed as the country's new rector. All this is part of a process that should last 18 months from Boubacar Keita's departure from the presidential seat to the holding of elections.

Both N'Daou and Goita will be sworn in on Friday, according to the official announcement. Meanwhile, from the opposition movement that confronted Keita, led, among others, by the influential cleric Mahmoud Dicko, one of his spokesmen, Kaou N'Djim, positively noted N'Daou's election. "He is an honest civil servant. He has never been involved in financial corruption issues," N'Djim explained. It was precisely the problems of misappropriation of public funds, political corruption and the country's serious economic crisis that motivated the strong protests against the government led by Keita, leading to the abrupt exit from power of the latter with the coup d'état perpetrated by the army. The opposition, which includes the important M5-RFP movement, showed its support for this movement to remove Boubacar Keita from the national leadership and it is now hoped a consensus will be reached between civilians and the military in order to hold elections to choose a new executive.  

It is now also expected that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including Mali, will make a statement following N'Daou's appointment, always in the expectation that the military junta will return power to the civilian sphere to ensure a fair democratic process in the African country. 

ECOWAS itself threatened to impose political and economic sanctions if these conditions of democratic cleansing were not respected in the process opened after the military coup d'état.  

Mali is one of the countries causing most concern in Africa on account of its regional importance, as it is part of the Sahel area ravaged by the action of terrorist groups operating there, such as Daesh. Other countries like France and the United States have expressed their concern about the procedure carried out in Mali, as it could bring more instability to the area and hinder the fight against Jihadist elements in the Sahel itself. In view of this situation, the French defence minister, Florence Parly, called for a "rapid transition" to stabilise Mali as soon as possible.  

Russia's long shadow also continues to be present in this situation; it should be remembered it was reported at the time that Malian military personnel involved in the coup d'état were in Moscow to receive training a few months before the uprising in Mali. It is widely known that Russia is interested in the African continent for its resources and the strategy directed by President Vladimir Putin to establish itself in the area, of great geostrategic interest, as evidenced by the movements of other powers such as China to gain a privileged position in Africa.  

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