Mali’s transitional government to be inaugurated
Mali’s transitional government will today be inaugurated in an official oath ceremony.
The new transitional president will be former Malian minister of defence and retired colonel Ba N’Daou, who will serve as head of state for an 18-month period before devolving power to a full civilian leadership. Colonel Assimi Goita, leader of the military junta that ousted former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August, will be appointed vice president. The formation of the transitionary government comes after a series of negotiations with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which agreed to normalise relations with Mali in exchange for the office of the president and prime minister to be held by civilians.
The new leadership will inherit and need to navigate the many issues that plagued Keita’s administration, from an under-industrialised economy—with 2020 growth projected to slow to 1%—to pervasive frustration with corruption in election processes to a widening Islamist insurgency in the north. As a former Keita administration official, N’Daou may find it difficult to shake the remnants of the former regime and restore public confidence in his leadership. Nevertheless, the popularity of the coup against Keita will likely ensure that the military junta retains power and the former president will not be reinstated.
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