Mali junta makes rare hint at end to military rule

Mali's ruling general on Wednesday made an unusual reference to preparations for elections that would put an end to military rule, albeit without setting out a timeline. Junta chief General Assimi Goita "invited the members of the government to create the necessary conditions for the organisation of transparent and peaceful elections", said a record of a council of ministers meeting.

Such remarks are exceptional in Mali's rocky political landscape, with the junta usually silent about the possibility of handing the reins of power back to civilians. Last week the west African country's civilian prime minister was sacked for criticising the junta, with his dismissal seeming to confirm the army's hold on power.

But the elections mooted by Goita Wednesday would "put an end to the transition" -- the term the junta uses to refer to the period in which they say they want to stabilise the crisis-wracked and jihadist-plagued nation before seeing power handed to civilian elected leaders.

After taking power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, the military initially committed under international pressure to give way to civilians in March 2024 after a presidential election. But the junta since reneged on that promise without setting a deadline for a new vote. Since 2020 the army has overseen the country's break with Mali's former imperial master France, pivoting towards Russia instead.

If the military does call a presidential election, Goita is expected to run in it, despite initial commitments by the military not to seek office after the return to civilian rule. Since 2012, Mali has been plunged into a political and security crisis fuelled by attacks from jihadist and other armed groups, as well as a separatist struggle in the desert north.