Mali’s junta appoints general to replace sacked civilian prime minister

The Mali junta on Thursday, November 21, appointed officer General Abdoulaye Maiga as the new prime minister after dismissal of civilian Prime Minister Chogel Kokalla Maiga a day earlier after his criticism of military leaders. Abdoulaye Maiga was still the government spokesman.

The West African country, plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, is under military leadership after successive coups in 2020 and 2021.

“Major General Abdoulaye Maiga has been appointed prime minister,” said a decree issued by junta chief General Asimi Goita and read out by the president’s general secretary on state TV channel ORTM.

Abdoulaye Maiga was not among the first group of colonels who overthrew a civilian president in August 2020 and have since been promoted to general, but he quickly joined them. His appointment to replace civilian Prime Minister Chogel Kokalla Maiga appears to confirm the military’s hold on power.

Kokalla Maiga on Saturday publicly condemned the lack of clarity regarding the completion of the transition to civilian rule. In June 2022, the junta promised to organize elections and transfer power to citizens by the end of March 2024, but later postponed the elections indefinitely.