Western countries will increase pressure on Mali after the National Reconciliation Dialogue recommended extending the country's transition period, Malian parliamentarian Aliou Tounkara told Sputnik.
Niger and Burkina Faso may also face similar pressure as the Sahel countries reject the configuration of the map of the region that the West wants to realize, Tunkara added.
The West, acting through France, will try to bring back the old regime, he said, noting that such methods of influence have lost their effectiveness.
The remarks were made after the country's national dialogue proposed to extend the transition period from two to five years and to nominate Goita as a candidate for the head of state election when it is held.
Initially, the country was supposed to finish the transitional period in February 2024 and conduct free and fair presidential elections. However, the deadline was later extended to March 26. After this date, the transition period came to an end and the elections were postponed indefinitely. The prime minister of Mali's transitional government, Choguel Kokalla Maiga, announced on April 12 that Mali would not organize presidential and legislative elections until the security situation in the country improved.
Since the summer of 2020, Mali has witnessed two military coups. The first, occurring in August 2020, resulted in the removal of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita from office. Taking his place as interim president was Bah N'daw, appointed by a group of military officers led by Assimi Goita. However, in May 2021, N'daw was overthrown by the same military group, and Mali's Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Goita, naming him as the head of state for a transitional period.