Former Nigerian President to meet Transition committee, civil societies in Bamako

The West African regional bloc’s envoy for Mali was due in Bamako Sunday; amid growing doubts about whether the ruling junta will respect an African Union and ECOWAS deadline to hand over power to civilians next February.

Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan is expected to meet with the local Transition Monitoring Committee, civil society, and political parties. According to his schedule, Jonathan will meet with Prime Minister Choguel Maiga on Monday before an encounter with the head of the military junta Colonel Assimi Goita on Tuesday.

Mali faces an ambitious timetable to facilitate its return to constitutional rule, which includes a referendum on October 31, regional and local elections on December 26, and the first round of presidential and legislative elections on February 27, 2022.

However, the transition has missed several deadlines, including sending a new draft constitution to the transitional parliament for debate, with some accusing the military of deliberately dragging its feet on the process. Transition plans were jolted by a second coup in less than a year in May.

The army rulers have vowed to respect the transition schedule but political parties and activists have accused them of seeking to dominate power.

Suzan O/AFN