Mali’s interim President and Prime Minister have resigned after being arrested by the Military.
Gatekeepers News had on Monday reported that the Malian President, Bah Ndaw; Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane; and Defence Minister, Souleymane Doucoure were seized by the military after a cabinet reshuffle that saw two of the Junta officers that ousted Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August, removed from their posts.
On Wednesday, Baba Cisse, an aide to Vice President Assimi Goita, confirmed that the President and Prime Minister have resigned.
“The president and his prime minister have resigned. Negotiations are ongoing for their liberation and the formation of a new government,” Baba Cisse said.
Goita, who led the coup in August against former Malian President Keita, said the President and the Prime Minister had breached the transitional charter by failing to consult him about the new cabinet.
Gatekeepers News reports that Goita also accused the government of mishandling social tensions in the country, including a strike last week by the main union. The union said on Tuesday it would suspend the strike in light of the political crisis.
He, however, assured that the elections planned for next year at the end of the 18-month transition back to civilian rule would hold.
ECOWAS delegation, led by a former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, had during a meeting with Goita late on Tuesday, raised the possibility of sanctions against the officers responsible for the takeover.
