PRETORIA, May 25. /TASS/. Malian Vice President Assimi Goita announced Tuesday that he has taken necessary actions against Interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane over their violation of the Transitional Charter, which temporarily replaces the national Constitution. He made this announcement in the statement regarding the ongoing situation in country, published on the official governmental website.
"The president and the prime minister violated the most important clause of the Transitional Charter during the appointment of ministers to the new government by failing to negotiate the power bloc with the Vice President," Goita underscored. "As a result, measures were taken in order to protect the basic document of the transitional period."
According to the Journal du Mali, the new government membership announced Monday did not include the two key participants of the August military coup - Colonels Modibo Kone and Sadio Camara. In the previous government, they served as Minister of Security and Minister of Defense, correspondingly. Goita was one of the leaders of the military coup that took place in August 2020.
The head of state and the prime minister were escorted to the Kati military camp near Bamako, where they remain currently. Later, Defense Minister Souleymane Doucoure was also apprehended and transferred to Kati. Goita did not disclose the current state of the top official, and he did not reveal his plan for further action. However, he did underscore that the transitional process will continue and that presidential and parliamentary elections will take place in Mali in 2022.
Late on Monday, France, the US, the UK, Germany and the EU published a statement on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) website, expressing their extreme concerns over the situation in Mali and the apprehension of the president and the prime minister, and calling it a coup attempt.
The August coup
On August 18 last year, a military coup took place in Mali, which began with a rebellion at the Kati military base. The military captured the General Staff, arrested the country’s top officials and established the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (NCSP). Under the pressure of the military, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita dissolved the government and the parliament and stepped down. NCSP head colonel Assimi Goita was declared the"head of state" by the coup leaders.
On September 21, the electoral college formed by the military appointed the former Defense Minister retired Colonel Bah Ndaw as the interim president for the following 18 months, and appointed Goita as vice president. On September 27, Bah Ndaw appointed former Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane as interim prime minister. The military announced that Mali will return to democratic rule through presidential and parliamentary elections after the 18-month transitional period following the coup.