Jump to navigation

Mali

The junta chooses isolation after the EU withdraws its mission

Colonel Goïta will stand for election in 2027, extending the military-led transition to democracy from two years to five

Confirmation that the European Union's military mission in Mali will end at the weekend, coupled with the announcement several days later on 10 May, that the military-led transition to democracy will be extended by three years, will deepen the country's international isolation (AC Vol 65 No 2, What hope for the juntas' promised elections?).

Following nationwide consultations, which were boycotted by many of the opposition, Mali's National Dialogue Committee announced that junta leader Colonel Assimi Goïta would be allowed to stand in elections that are now planned for 2027, extending the transition to five years from two, effectively prolonging the junta's rule to 2027.

The EU's decision which will come into effect on 18 May, follows a 'strategic review' by the bloc, consultations carried out with the Malian authorities, and taking into account the 'evolution of the political and security situation on the ground,' the EU's diplomatic wing, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement.

The EU has gradually abandoned any attempt to build political relations with the junta, instead prioritising ties with neighbouring West African states, including Mauritania, Senegal, Benin, and Côte d'Ivoire, offering cooperation and financial support on defence and migration control.

The European Union Military Training Mission (EUTM) was deployed to train and advise forces and included up to 700 soldiers from some 20 European countries. However, it  significantly reduced its numbers following military coups in 2020 and 2021, and the junta's opposition to the French-led Opération Barkhane, a military mission against Islamic terror groups that ended in November 2022.

'The channels for political dialogue and security and technical cooperation remain open,' added the EEAS.

That Goïta's government showed so little interest in working with Brussels is an indication of the regime's self-confidence and its determination to press ahead with an alternative model based on cooperation with neighbouring military regimes in the Alliance des États du Sahel (AES) and Russian military support (AC Vol 65 No 10, The juntas are running out of excuses).



Related Articles

What hope for the juntas' promised elections?

As the security threats multiply and international troops are forced out, the military rulers in the Sahel have equivocated about their commitments to restoring civilian rule

The promise of electoral contests to restore constitutional and nominally civilian rule will be a key issue across much of West and West-Central Africa this year, and particularly...


The juntas are running out of excuses

Populist rhetoric and ethnic targeting by the military regimes are deepening the region's fault-lines

The lean season in the Sahel this year is starting under the toughest economic and political conditions for generations. Mali and Burkina Faso have been baked by a...


    Vol 54 No 21 |
  • MALI

Flare-up in the north

The spate of Islamist violence in northern Mali early this month confirms the warnings of French military and United Nations peacekeepers that the jihadists who had melted away...


Restive Tuareg ramp up tension

The Algiers peace accord is in danger of unravelling as both Mali and Burkina Faso struggle under new challenges from the jihadists

While Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea talk of grand plans for diplomatic and economic cooperation, the already desperate Sahel security crisis has taken another turn for the worse.


    Vol 42 No 19 |
  • MALI

Stand to ATTention

By the end of October Mali's national hero, General Amadou Toumani Touré (ATT), will almost certainly announce that he'll stand in next year's presidential election. ATT is said...