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By Emma Emeozor
Mali’s interim president and prime minister resigned yesterday, two days after they were arrested by the military, an aide to the vice president said, deepening a political crisis and potentially setting up a standoff with international powers.
President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were taken to a military base outside the capital on Monday after a cabinet reshuffle in which two officers lost their posts. “The president and his prime minister have resigned. Negotiations are ongoing for their liberation and the formation of a new government,” said Baba Cisse, an aide to Goita, in comments sent by the military to Reuters.
The resignations came as a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) visited Mali to press the military to back down.
During a meeting late on Tuesday with Goita, the delegation, led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, raised the possibility of sanctions against the officers responsible for the takeover, according to a military official who was present. It had been due to meet Ndaw and Ouane yesterday, but it was not immediately clear if that had happened.
It is not clear if ECOWAS would be satisfied with a replacement president and prime minister, or if it will insist on Ndaw and Ouane being reinstated. ECOWAS and other powers want a civilian-led transition to democracy to continue.
