The Malian leader met with ECOWAS Chairman, Alassane Ouattara last Wednesday in Abidjan.
With a few days left to the end of the mandate of the transitional president Dioncounda Traore on May 22, the situation in Mali now looks more confused following the inability of the stakeholders to agree on the way forward.
Rising from a meeting last Wednesday May 16 in Abidjan with Ivoirian President and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Alassane Ouattara, President Dioncounda ruled out the proposal by the leader of the former military junta, Captain Ahmadou Sanogo for the holding of national convention to choose another caretaker president for the crisis-torn country.
He said he did not think the proposal was a solution to the current crisis in the country especially as it was never part of the deal signed earlier with ECOWAS. According to Radio France Internationale, RFI, Dioncounda at the brief press conference did not say if he had held talks with Captain Sanogo and Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra on who will lead the second phase of transition as from May 22 before leaving for Abidjan.
The AFP news agency reported that Captain Sanogo had on Monday May 14 urged the country’s interim leaders to hold talks to choose a transition president. Sanogo is sticking to a constitutional point stating that the interim government should last only for 40 days, allowing the soldiers to lobby for a new leader to lead the country to elections.
The Angolan News Agency, ANGOP said Mali, once considered one of Africa's democratic success stories, was thrown into turmoil on March 22 when mid-level army officers staged a coup and ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure popularly referred to as ATT. His government was blamed for not doing enough to fight a Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country.
The Tuareg separatists and their Islamist allies took advantage of the ensuing chaos to seize the country's vast north, including its three main towns, Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu.
As the stalemate in Mali continues, the international community is concerned about the future of the country if on May 22 a transitional leader is not chosen, thus leaving a dangerous political vacuum. As things stand, the former junta leaders are the ones in actual control of the country.
