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Mali junta shifts ground, announces new transition date. What would be ECOWAS reaction?

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Mali’s military leader Colonel Assimi Goita has announced that Bamako will be returned to civil rule after twenty months.

The position was made known through a decree read on state television on Monday by the spokesperson of the government.

“The duration of the transition is fixed at 24 months (from) March 26, 2022”. The decree read.

The military said Monday’s decree followed an “advanced stage of negotiations with ECOWAS” and Mali hoped sanctions would be lifted.

“The adoption of this decree is proof of the willingness of [Malian] authorities to dialogue with ECOWAS,” the spokesperson added.

Mali’s constitutional court named Colonel Assimi Goïta, as its transitional president after a coup that ousted the civil government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ramped up sanctions on Mali after Goïta took over the government in August 2020. The regional body also activated its standby military force following the failure of transitional authorities in the country to organize elections.

The West African country since Goita took over power has also been at loggerheads with many of its people within and outside the continent. Most notable among the many diplomatic rifts is breaking defence ties with former colonialist, France which has been helping with the fight against terrorism.

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South Africa: Opposition Democratic Alliance open to coalition with ruling ANC

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The Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-most popular party in South Africa, has revealed that it would not rule out a compromise with the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

The DA says it will consider the move if the ANC does not get the necessary majority to maintain its hold on power in the May elections.

The May 29 election might prove to be the biggest test yet for Nelson Mandela’s former party which has ruled South Africa since the end of white minority rule thirty years ago. Voters dissatisfied with inadequate service delivery, unemployment, crime, and power outages might cause the ANC to lose its legislative majority according to pollsters.

Another bottleneck for the ANC is the factional division it has suffered with former President Jacob Zuma’s political base out of the party, having created the uMkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation). In that case, as the president of South Africa is chosen by the parliament, neither President Cyril Ramaphosa nor a replacement for the position could hold onto power without the support of a coalition.

“It would depend on which ANC you’re dealing with and what their programme of action is,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said, declining to disclose whether any talks had already taken place.

“I’m not ruling out anything, depending on what the election results are.”

Meanwhile, Nomvula Mokonyane, the ANC’s deputy party secretary, informed reporters earlier this month that the party was not thinking about forming a coalition government with other parties and that she did not believe a power-sharing agreement would succeed.

To garner the majority of votes required to win government, the Democratic Alliance has united with smaller parties. These include the longtime ANC bitter rival, the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party; additionally, Action SA, which has developed a platform based on a strong anti-immigration stance and appeals to working- and middle-class voters; and Freedom Front Plus, which targets rural white South Africans who feel politically marginalized since apartheid.

While the EFF is well-liked among low-income Black South Africans, companies and the rich view the DA as a party that supports business. The EFF pledges to address land ownership disparities and nationalize industries.

“It’s a long shot,” Steenhuisen said. He added that if the opposition coalition did not win, his priority would be to prevent the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) from getting a seat on the executive.

“What I call the ‘doomsday coalition’ … is a tie-up between the EFF and the ANC,” he said.

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44-year-old Bassirou Faye set to become Senegal’s president

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The leading opposition candidate in Sunday’s presidential election in Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, is set to become the president-elect of the West African country.

Faye, who was released from prison only a few days ago, is winning with almost 54% of the vote, with 90% of the ballots counted by the electoral commission.

Following the counting of 90% of the polling station results, the Senegalese Electoral Commission declared that Faye had secured 53.68% of the vote, while Amadou Ba, the candidate for the ruling coalition, secured 36.2% of the vote.

For him, everything changed in July when fiery popular leader and fellow detainee, Ousmane Sonko, was accused of insurrection and disqualified from contesting to succeed President Macky Sall in elections. This cleared the way for Faye to seize control of the race, and on Monday, his 44th birthday, emerge victorious after his opponent gave up.

Much of Faye’s success can be attributed to the support of Sonko who enjoys high popularity, particularly among young people.

Other presidential contenders had called Faye to concede defeat. Ba, another major contender in the election, in a statement, said, “In light of presidential election result trends and while we await the official proclamation, I congratulate… Faye for his victory in the first round.”

Shortly before the announcement, outgoing President Macky Sall also congratulated Faye, “I salute the smooth running of the presidential election of March 24, 2024, and congratulate the winner, Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who the trends show as the winner. It is the victory of Senegalese democracy.”

“In electing me, the Senegalese people have decided on a break with a past,” Faye told journalists in his first public appearance since the election. “your I promise to govern with humility and transparency.”

Many anticipate that following three years of unparalleled political upheaval and multiple waves of lethal anti-government protests, the vote will bring economic stability and a boost. Already, there are reports that Faye’s imminent victory have caused Senegal’s international bonds to rise, reversing steep declines from earlier in the day.

The Dakar appeals court is anticipated to release the complete, official results on Friday.

Senegal is a republic with multiple parties. The president, who is chosen by universal adult direct suffrage and is eligible for two five-year terms, is the head of state under the 2001 constitution, which established a highly centralized presidential system. The president appoints the prime minister, who leads the government.

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