Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta appointed nine judges to the Constitutional Court on Friday, by decree,
as part of a compromise intended to ease the country’s months-long political crisis.
The poor Sahel nation is in the grip of a political impasse between Keita and an increasingly strident opposition
which is intent on securing his resignation.
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Last month, 11 people died over three days of unrest following an anti-Keita protest —
in the worst political strife, Mali has seen in years.
Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita appoints nine judges
Heads of government from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stepped in,
suggesting on July 27 the formation of a new unity government to include opposition members, while sticking by Keita.
Much of Mali’s current tension was sparked in April, when the Constitutional Court tossed out 30 results from long-delayed parliamentary elections — a move that benefited Keita’s party, but triggered protests.
Mali’s opposition June 5 Movement has repeatedly spurned the ECOWAS proposal, however, and continues to demand the 75-year-old president’s resignation.
On Friday, according to a presidential decree seen by AFP, Keita nevertheless appointed nine new judges to the court.
