3 years too long for Mali junta to call the shots

Col. Assimi Goita, who has declared himself the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, arrives to meet with former Nigerian president and mediator for the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS, Goodluck Jonathan, at the Ministry of Defense in the capital Bamako, Mali, on August 24, 2020. The military junta is now in charge of Mali. [Agencies]

There was Jubilation across Mali following the military overthrow of President Ibrahim Keita last week. For long, citizens wearied of a government that did not deliver services had agitated for change, but they had not banked on a military coup to bring change.

However, the Malian jubilation was bound to be short lived as realities of the situation set in. Military leaderships are not known for their democratic ideals. More often, the first thing that military juntas do is suspend a country’s constitution. Constitutionalism, the rule of law and democratic ideals suffer. Often, this paves way for dictatorships far worse than the worst democratically elected government.

The coup in Mali received international condemnation, and there have been calls for a return to civilian rule. The Economic Community for West African States (Ecowas) has sent a delegation to Mali to negotiate with the coup leaders for a quick return to elected government, but the junta has demanded a three-year transition period.

Three years is inordinately long if the military’s aim was to correct the wrongs that citizens had complained about for a long time. Experience elsewhere in Africa has shown that once the military settles into power, it becomes hard to convince it to leave. This is because freedom of expression, both for media and citizens get trampled on, and with courts rendered useless, there is no recourse for justice.

Malians, Ecowas and the world should impress it upon the Mali junta that it can only stay in power for as long as it takes to organise democratic elections. And can and should be done in a matter of months. Col Assimi Goita and his comrades must prepare to go back to the barracks as soon as possible. That's where they belong.