Mali: ECOWAS envoy, Goita discuss transition plans

Former Nigerian President Good luck Jonathan on Tuesday held a meeting with the head of Mali's junta Colonel Assimi Goita in Bamako in a desperate attempt to save the country's fragile transition. Jonathan is ECOWAS' envoy for Mali.

Goita was sworn in Monday as the country's President, two weeks after he removed transitional President Bah Ndaw, attracting suspension and condemnation by ther African Union.

"As I said, and it was reiterated by the mediators, that the commitment of ECOWAS has accompanied the transition process so that elections are held according to the schedule that has already been established by the Malian authorities. Therefore our role will be to support this process," said Jean- Claude Brou Kassi, the ECOWAS delegation leader.

The trip was Jonathan's second in two weeks. Goita has vowed to stick to the old transition schedule, which prescribes elections next February.

The Sahel country's second coup in nine months threatens to upset a return to civilian rule. Activists and political parties have warned that the army is keen on dominating power with little interest in a democratic dispensation.