Mali: inauguration of Colonel Assimi Goïta today

Mali will be in the spotlight this Monday. And for good reason. Confirmed at the head of the country by the Constitutional Court, after having demanded and obtained the resignation of the President of the transition, Bah N’Daw, and his Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane, Colonel Assimi Goïta will be sworn in on Monday.

The new President of the transition in Mali, Colonel Assimi Goïta, will be officially sworn in on Monday. It is the International Center of Bamako which will serve as a framework for this ceremony which should begin from 10 am GMT and local time. A moment eagerly awaited by both Malians and foreign chancelleries, it will be an opportunity for Colonel Assimi Goita « to reassure and solemnly make clear commitments on the conduct of the remaining eight months of the transition, » an anonymous diplomatic source told TV5 Monde. The same source said that Western embassies will be represented at this ceremony « generally at the level of collaborator ». This level of representation which is « neither a boycott nor a sanction » simply means, in diplomatic jargon: « We are still not reassured, we are waiting to see what happens next. On the other hand, Mahamat Saleh Annadif’s replacement at the head of MINUSMA, El-Ghassim Wane, is expected to attend today’s ceremony.

The Malian population, which seems to be in favour of the military, expects a lot from them. « We want the Prime Minister and the President to get along well for the happiness and higher interest of the nation. This means that they should not be in power for their own interests or for their relatives. All they are trying to do is save Mali, » a Bamako resident told RFI. Another Bamako resident echoed this view, saying: « I want the military to stay in power to finish the transition.
Finish the transition! But within what timeframe?

This question worries more than one Malian and even more so the foreign chancelleries. On this point, Colonel Assimi Goïta’s speech is highly anticipated. Will he commit to respecting the electoral calendar initially communicated, which provided for general elections in February and March? Last Friday, Choguel Kokalla Maiga, already in the shoes of Prime Minister, pending his official appointment, said: « We will respect our international commitments that are not contrary to the fundamental interests of the Malian people. This was a way for the president of the M5 strategic committee to reassure Mali’s various partners.

In any case, the word of Assimi Goïta is eagerly awaited today to fix the real intentions of the group of colonels he leads and which, in the space of nine months, has carried out two putsches in Mali.