MaliтАЩs military Vice President Col Assimi Goita is taking over as president of the transitional government, the constitutional court said in a statement on Friday.Col Goita will resume the functions of president for the duration of the transition, according to the statement. The interim president, Bah NтАЩDaw, and prime minister, Moctar Ouane, who were meant to oversee preparations for elections after last year’s August 18 coup, resigned on Wednesday while in military detention. The court said in a four-page ruling that Col Goita should fill the vacancy left by Mr N’Daw’s resignation “to lead the transition process to its conclusion” and carry the title of “president of the transition, head of state”. The ousted leaders were freed in the early hours of Thursday after UN, US and regional authorities called for their immediate release.
Col Assimi Goita, the leader of MaliтАЩs 2020 coup, who had been serving as the transitional vice president since September, regained control of the West African country by deposing the president and prime minister in a surprise move. The former president and prime minister were arrested on Monday along with other government leaders, hours after naming a new Cabinet that did not include two major former junta leaders. While in detention, Mr NтАЩDaw dismissed the prime minister before handing in his own resignation letter, according to a military official and a West African diplomat involved in mediations. Maj Baba Cisse, the special adviser to Col Goita, who led the arrests on Monday that have sparked international condemnation, said the resignations by both the prime minister and president were done in the presence of arbitrators and offered assurances the leaders would eventually be released. тАЬAfter the resignation of the transitional president and his prime minister, the detainees will recover their freedoms. This will be done gradually for the obvious security reasons,тАЭ he said at a news conference. The UN Security Council met on Wednesday over Mali and condemned the arrests. A statement approved by all 15 council members after closed consultations said that тАЬimposing a change of transitional leadership by force, including through forced resignations, is unacceptableтАЭ. The Security Council reiterated its strong support for mediation efforts by the African Union and West African regional group, known as ECOWAS, led by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.
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