The Malian leader of a coup last August, Colonel Assimi Goita, who has overthrown two presidents in the past nine months, swore in as interim president of the chronically unstable Sahel state on Monday after the country’s second nine-month coup.
The ceremony in the capital Bamako came after Goita fired the civilian president and prime minister of a transitional government on May 24 to international condemnation.
“I swear before God and the Malian people to preserve the Republican regime … to preserve democratic gains,” said Goita, who had replaced his camouflage rugs with a dark gray officer’s uniform and a yellow belt. “The situation allows us to put the transition process back in the direction that the people want,” he said.
He added that he was determined to implement “the steps needed to succeed in the transition, in particular the organization of credible, fair and transparent elections held on schedule”, according to Reuters.
Mali’s second nine – month coup has caused diplomatic uproar, leading to the suspension of Mali by the African Union (AU) and the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS).
France has also suspended joint military operations with Malian forces and stopped giving military advice. The former colonial power has thousands of troops stationed in the semi-arid Sahel to help combat extremist violence that erupted in Mali in 2012 and is now threatening the region, as Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Goita is under pressure from regional and international powers to ensure that the election continues next February as planned, but his advisers have suggested that the timetable may change.
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