Mali: PM Boubou Cisse urges political opponents for new unity government

Malian Prime Minister, Boubou Cisse, urged political opponents to reconsider establishing a new unity government, after their rejection of the most recent compromise proposed to quell the ever-mounting political crisis, according to a news report by Africa News.

Although standing firm in the non-resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a non-negotiable for the opponents, he urged them to come on board with the ECOWAS-endorsed plan and prevent any further disputes.

"I hope that this offer to engage in dialogue that the President of the Republic has already had to extend on several occasions, an offer that we are presenting this afternoon, can be heard by the actors of the M5-RFP, not only heard, but accepted, and allow us to emerge from this critical situation in which we find ourselves" he implored.

A public address met with another outright rejection by the June 5 Movement who continue to insist that, now more than ever, Keita must step down. The loose alliance of opposition groups and religious leaders has been channeling deep frustration in Mali over a dire economy, perceived corruption, and brutal jihadist conflict in the country.

Si vous pensez que ce sont des acteurs externes qui vont régler la crise sociopolitique malienne.C'est parceque vous n'avez pas touché le fond du problème. Seul une rencontre à huit-clos entre le M5( Iman Dicko) et IBK en est la solution. pic.twitter.com/WcRPoWr61l

— Ibrahima Lo🇸🇳 (@Ibrahim99485249) July 25, 2020

Within hours, Keita named a stripped-down cabinet designating the ministers for security, justice, foreign affairs, and finance. Afterwhich, he wasted no time in tasking the newly-formed cabinet with the challenge of negotiating the formation of a unity government. Activity intensified the outrage amongst the opposition.