The people of Mali took to the streets once again on Tuesday renewing calls for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to step down despite international mediation efforts to resolve the ongoing political crisis, reported Reuters.
“M5-Rfp demands purely and simply the resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his regime to allow for a democratic transition,” prominent M5-RFP member Ibrahim Maiga told the protesters.
Mass protests led by an opposition coalition called M5-RFP have intensified since June, caused by contested local elections and perceived government corruption and incompetence. The Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn the results of parliamentary polls for 31 seats, in a move that saw candidates with Keita’s party get re-elected sparked the protests.
Tensions escalated when the protests turned violent on July 10 when at least 11 people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the worst political strife Mali has seen in years.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has previously sent a high-level mission to the country and suggested several proposals for mediation, including the formation of a new unity government. The bloc has remained supportive of Keita staying in office.
But the June 5 Movement has so far rejected those proposals. It has continued to insist on the 75-year-old president’s departure.
On Monday, Nigeria’s ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, who is the chief international mediator in Mali’s deepening political crisis, said that he had pleaded with influential imam and opposition figurehead Mahmoud Dicko to “be a bit mindful about encouraging demonstrations”.
“You can start a demonstration but you will never know how it will end,” he said.
In related news, Mali President Keita swore in nine new judges to the Constitutional Court on Monday, in line with an ECOWAS suggestion for resolving the dispute. The plan suggested by the Ecowas mediation team calls for the 30 MPs, as well as parliamentary president, to step down until partial elections for those constituencies can be held again.
