Government resigns, prime minister reappointed in Mali

By Aurore Bonny

LOME, Togo (AA) - Mali's Prime Minister Moctar Ouane resigned and was subsequently reappointed transitional president, the Malian presidency announced Friday.

Ouane will have to form a new government with room for the political class, under instructions of President Bah N'Daw.

N’Daw made his decision after several meetings he initiated to renew dialogue between transitional authorities, civil society and the Malian political class, according to local sources.

He held a meeting with representatives of the 5 June Movement - Gathering of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP) on May 6. The same day, Choguel Kokala Maiga, the movement's spokesperson, demanded, among other things, the dissolution of the government and the rectification of the transition.

The bloc of the Economic Community of West African States, after a visit by mediator Jonathan Goodluck on May 12 in Mali, was satisfied with the evolution of the socio-political situation in the country, as reported by the Malian presidency.

The bloc suspended Mali from the group following a coup that toppled former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last August.

Although the question of the establishment of a single body to manage upcoming elections, namely the referendum and legislative and the presidential elections, "has not been definitively decided," the presidency reported.

The presidential election is scheduled for next March.

Mali has been run by transitional authorities since the military coup.

N'Daw and Assimi Goita were respectively appointed transitional president and vice-president by a committee of the junta the following month.

Moctar Ouane was placed at the head of the government on Sept. 27.