Changing tides

Mali: Is Assimi Goïta ready to hand over power in 20 months?

By Fatoumata Diallo

Reserved for subscribers

Posted on March 23, 2022 15:57

Screenshot 2022-03-21 at 19-13-02 Mali Assimi Goïta prêt à céder le pouvoir dans 20 mois – Jeune Afrique Colonel Assimi Goïta, in Bamako, 18 September 2020. © Michele Cattani/AFP — Colonel Assimi Goïta, in Bamako, 18 September 2020. © Michele Cattani/AFP

Following strong tensions, discussions resumed between Ecowas and the Malian junta. The latter presented a new proposal to Goodluck Jonathan, the West African mediator, who arrived in Bamako on 18 March.

His last visit to the Malian capital did not go well. On 26 February, Goodluck Jonathan, the emissary of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in Mali, left empty-handed, as he and the country’s authorities had failed to agree on how long the new transition period should last.

The former Nigerian President was undoubtedly more enthusiastic this time around when he stepped onto the tarmac of the Modibo Keïta-Senou airport in Bamako on the afternoon of 18 March for a two-day visit.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

Already a a subscriber Sign In

More Politics

© A view of the newly-commissioned Dangote Petroleum refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria May 22, 2023. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

distribution details

Will Dangote’s Refinery solve Nigeria’s fuel consumption problems? President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, the world’s largest single-train refinery, on 22 May in Lagos am...

Coffee With

Angélique Kidjo, an encounter beyond space and time Fresh from winning the prestigious Polar Music Prize, the Benin-born singer tells The Africa Report what motivates her to cross cultural divides in he...

© A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting Russia’s para military mercenaries ‘Wagner Group’ reading : “Wagner Group – Russian knights” on a building’s wall in Belgrade, on November 17, 2022. (Photo by OLIVER BUNIC / AFP)

Cracking down

US sanctions Wagner commander in Mali in latest crackdown on Russian mercenary operations in Africa The US government slapped new sanctions on Russia’s Wagner Group on 25 May, putting African nations on notice that working with the Kremlin-linked mer...

© Liberia’s NEC civic & voter education agents informing eligible voters in their communities to register using Liberia’s 1st Biometric Voter Registration system on 18 March 2023 (photo: twitter)

checks & balances

Liberia ends voter registration amid cases of voter trucking and irregularities The national elections commission ended its voter registration on 11 May for the general election scheduled for 10 October. But the process was not wi...