Goodluck Jonathan, ECOWAS mediator on the Malian crisis, arrives in Bamako
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The mediator of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the socio-political crisis in Mali, Goodluck Jonathan, arrived in Bamako on Monday, the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced in Bamako.
Jonathan, a former Nigerian President, accompanied by a large delegation, was greeted at the Modibo Keita-Senou International Airport by the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Tiéblé Dramé.
According to the ministry, the ECOWAS delegation is staying in the Malian capital, as part of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations from the last extraordinary summit of heads of state of the sub-regional organization on the Malian crisis, held on July 27 by videoconference.
In a statement upon his arrival in Bamako, Jonathan said "Malians must look in the same direction in order to meet the multiple challenges of the moment such as peace, security, education and health".
Jonathan and his delegation stayed from July 15 to 19 in Bamako meeting all the combatants in the Malian crisis (government, opposition and civil society), before making proposals which will see Malians exit the crisis, such as the reconstitution of the Constitutional Court, the formation of a national unity government, the holding of partial legislative elections in the constituencies where the results of the second round were disputed.
These proposals were endorsed by the extraordinary summit of heads of state of the sub-regional organization, but rejected by the Movement of June 5-gathering of patriotic forces (M5-RFP), the main actor in the protest against president Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita and his regime which it accuses of incompetence in the management of the country crisis for several years.
The opposition still calls for the resignation of President Kéita and his regime, the establishment of a transitional government with a consensual Prime minister, the dissolution of the National Assembly and the opening of an independent investigation into the killings during demonstrations of Friday July 10.
The M5-RFP is made up of opposition political parties and a the civil society.
-0- PANA GT/JSG/SOC/KND/VAO 11Aug2020
