Malian opposition MPs announced the formation of a transition government in exile to counter the one that has ruled the nation since a 2020 coup.
The civilian opposition’s latest move comes after Mali’s military authorities failed to meet a March deadline to hold elections and hand over control to a civilian government.
“The citizen’s assembly of the civil transition has today elected the members of the government,” said a statement issued from Geneva and signed by exiled Malian politician Adaman Traore, the body’s president.
This “civil transition (government) … is the only legitimate one in Mali,” the text said.
It designated Mohamed Cherif Kone, one of several notable exiled politicians listed as members, as the parallel government’s prime minister and defense minister.
The declaration came a day after the political movement supporting Mali’s junta-appointed civilian prime minister, Choguel Kokalla Maiga, publicly attacked the military rulers for the first time.
The colonels maintained tight control over power, suspending all party-political activity and silencing opponents, journalists, and human rights advocates.
Since 2012, Mali has been embroiled in a political and security crisis fueled by attacks by insurgents and other armed organizations, as well as a separatist conflict in the north.
Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, appointed by the military leaders after the 2020 coup, stated, on April 11, that elections will be held once stability is achieved amid the country’s security challenges.
Meanwhile, AU Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat warned that suspending parties and political associations threatened to “hinder the implementation of an inclusive transition process in the country.
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