BAMAKO (Reuters) – The M5-RFP coalition in Mali that led anti-government protests before last month’s coup has rejected a political charter pushed through by the ruling junta on Saturday, M5-RFP said.
After three days of negotiations with political leaders and civil society groups, the junta’s roadmap was meant to chart an agreed transition for Mali after the Aug. 18 coup that toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
M5-RFP said the final version of the charter did not reflect the results of talks, which it said included a majority vote for a civilian interim president.
“M5-RFP distances itself from the resulting document which does not reflect the views and decisions of the Malian people,” it said in a statement released late on Saturday.
Under the junta’s charter, the interim president can be a civilian or a soldier and will preside over a transitional period of 18 months before elections are held, according to a spokesman for the talks.
(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Catherine Evans)
