Retired colonel and former defence minister, Bah Ndaw has been sworn in as Mali’s interim president, more than a month after a military coup overthrew Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Coup leader, Colonel, Assimi Goita was also sworn in as the vice president of the transition during a ceremony held in the capital, Bamako.
Ndaw’s appointment was announced on 21st September, by Colonel Goita. The interim president will rule for a maximum of 18 months before staging nationwide elections.
Following the August 18 coup, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc suspended Mali from its decision-making institutions, shut borders and halted financial flows in an attempt to push for a swift return to civilian rule.
ECOWAS envoy, Goodluck Jonathan said he hoped the disciplinary measures would be lifted following Ndaw’s inauguration, although no decision has yet been taken.
Mali’s neighbours took a hard line with the military government, fearful that the unconstitutional transfer of power may set an example for their countries and undermine international efforts to contain a worsening security crisis in the country at the heart of the fight against armed groups in the Sahel region.
Large parts of Mali already lie outside of government control due to a lethal armed uprising that first emerged in 2012 and has also inflamed ethnic tensions.
In the weeks leading up to the coup, tens of thousands of opposition supporters had taken to the streets to demand Keita’s departure, protesting against a disputed parliamentary election, persistent economic woes, corruption and the failure to address the escalating violence
Jean-Herve Jezequel, project director for the Sahel at the Crisis Group, said it was “very hard to tell” whether the new leadership could succeed where previous administrations had failed.
“They have indicated they are very willing to address the deeper social problems of Mali,” he told reporters, noting that the country was facing both security and governance issues.
“Everybody wonders if military people are best positioned in issues of governance. An additional issue is that Mali has a lot of issues related to the Sahel, with ECOWAS closing the borders. Many donors are unable to continue funding many of the projects.
“Will they have the money, the resources to address the deep structural issues of Mali? That is a tough question,” he said.
Following the announcement that Ndaw is to head the transitional government, Yvan Guichaoua, a Sahel expert at the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies, described the new leader as “a lesser-known figure with a reputation of decency” and whose profile “looks acceptable by the domestic political forces and the international community”.
“The ECOWAS wanted a civilian president and Ndaw meets this criterion, even though he is retired military,” he told reporters. “We’re now getting closer to having a functional institutional architecture able to govern Mali, in which the junta will, in any case, remain highly influential.”
Colonel Major Ismaël Wagué, spokesman for the junta, has also made it clear that Mali’s new government were keen to continue working closely with the international forces, just as they were hoping to secure Ecowas agreement to their plans for the political road ahead.
