Mali military rulers have on Saturday announced the postponement of their first meeting over the transfer of powers due to ‘organisational reasons’ nearly two weeks after ousting the president in a coup.
The junta had invited civic groups, political organisations and former rebels to consultations on Saturday, but said in a statement that the meeting was postponed to a later date.
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June 5 Movement, a protest coalition that had campaigned against former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had not been invited to participate in the meeting.
The group has demanded that the military junta give it a role in the transition to a civilian rule which the military has promised, though without a timetable.
After an escalating series of mass protests, young army officers mutinied on August 18, seizing Keita and other leaders and declaring they now governed the country.
The coup shocked Mali’s West African neighbors and ally France, heightening worries over instability in a country already struggling with an Islamist insurgency, ethnic violence, and economic malaise.
This comes a day after West African leaders demanded an immediate civilian transition and elections within 12 months as they considered sanctions.
This was one of the decisions made by the ECOWAS authority at the end of its second virtual extraordinary session on the socio-political situation in Mali on Friday, August 28.
Speaking during the session, President Muhmmadu Buhari, emphasised the needs for the country to return to democracy, warning that Mali could not afford to stand alone, charging the junta to be realistic by setting acceptable time table for return of democratic rule.
The President noted the briefings so far received from the ECOWAS Special Envoy, former President Goodluck Jonathan, indicated the regional body’s engagements with the new military leadership in Mali were yet to achieve the desired results in several key areas.
Among declarations of the Summit adopted by ECOWAS leaders were that the transition government in Mali must be led by civilians, and that the return to constitutional order should be concluded within 12 months.
Malian military was also encouraged to focus on securing the country, faced with severe security threats from its northern part, instead of an incursion into governance.
