Retired Col. Maj. Bah N’Daw, 70, a former defense minister, was sworn in today Friday September 25th, 2020 as the president of the transitional government of Mali. He was chosen by a transition committee selected by the junta that included its members and representatives of political parties, civil and religious groups.
Ahead of Friday’s scheduled inauguration of the leaders of Mali’s transition government, the Ecowas_Cedeao mediation team met with some stakeholders including Mr. Bah Ndaw, President-Designate and Colonel Assimi Goita, President of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) and Vice President-Designate, both of who took the oath of office at the official ceremony today.
Also, the 15-nation West African region bloc known as ECOWAS had demanded that the president and prime minister in any transitional government must be civilians, not from the military junta. It was not immediately clear whether they would accept Goita as vice president as he would still hold a prominent role in government.
Already the regional group has closed borders to Mali and stopped financial flows to the country in the wake of the coup. It was not immediately clear what additional actions ECOWAS may take following Monday’s announcement.