Foreign
The Mouvement du 5 Juin-Rassemblement des Forces Patriotiques (M5-RFP), Mali’s opposition umbrella group, whose demonstrations triggered the coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on 18 August, has rejected the mode of appointment of members of the National Transition Council (NTC).
The group also rejected the method of distribution of key positions by NTC, the Malian Press Agency (AMAP), reported on Sunday.
The chairman of the Strategic Committee of the M5-RFP, Dr. Choguel Kokala Maiga, clarified the position of the movement on the two decrees on the mode of appointment of members of the NTC and offer of positions, signed by the President of the transition, Bah N’Daw.
During a meeting on Friday, attended by several leaders of the protest movement, Dr. Maiga read a statement, saying that the M5-RFP regards the two decrees as “simply unacceptable in both form and substance”.
He said it is unacceptable that the Vice-President of the transition, who is also President of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) junta that seized power on 18 August, “has the power to impose sanctions to choose good and bad candidates in place of the entities concerned”.
He said that the 48-hour deadline given to candidates to submit their applications for positions stems from total ignorance of the realities in Mali.
Consequently, “the M5-RFP appeals to all patriotic, political and social forces in the country to consult, enter into resistance and face up to save democracy and the Republic”.
Former minister and former governor of Bamako, Ms Sy Kadiatou Sow, an influential member of the movement, recalled that the ultimate goal of the M5-RFP was not only the departure of President Keita and his regime, “but also the profound change in the governance of the country”.
In the distribution of positions, only eight were allocated to the M5-RFP, the main actor in the protest against President Keita and his regime, which they accused of “bad governance” and “mismanagement” of the multifaceted crisis in Mali.
In a recent statement, the M5-RFP is asking for 25 seats in the NTC and the presidency of the new 121-member legislative body, which serves as Parliament in place of the National Assembly dissolved after the 18 August coup.
Many other parties and groupings of political parties have also rejected the NTC’s distribution of key positions and accused the military of taking 22 seats and almost ignoring the more than 200 political parties that had to make do with only 11 seats. (PANA/NAN)
Nov 16 2020 @ 7:51 GMT
Tags: Mali’s opposition umbrella M5-RFP rejects method of appointing Transition Council
