A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

According to official media ORTM on Wednesday, Mali’s Prime Minister, Choguel Maiga, was dismissed for criticising the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24 months allotted for the country’s return to democracy.

Elections were scheduled for February, but the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, postponed the poll indefinitely for technical reasons.

Maiga said last week that he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion inside the administration over the postponing of the elections.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Maiga told reporters on Saturday.

According to a source close to Maiga, his remarks caused the junta to become agitated and postpone a ministerial council meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.

Maiga fiercely supported Mali’s junta in the face of criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa for its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

The measure would require Maiga’s successor to confer with Assimi Goïta, the acting president, before forming a new cabinet.

Maiga was Mali’s minister of commerce under former President Amadou Toumani Toure and minister of the digital economy under former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita before being appointed prime minister in 2021.

Before his fall, Maiga led the M5-RFP opposition alliance, which led demonstrations against Keita.