Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was in front of the national press on Sunday 31 July 2022 to discuss the situation in Mali. The misunderstandings between the Malian people and their authorities, the organisation of the election and the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement were the main points addressed by President Tebboune.
During his interview with the press, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune wanted to put an end to the discord between the Malian people and their authorities. Indeed, the Algerian president called on the Malian transitional authorities to understand and resort to elections as soon as possible. “Giving a voice to the people”, “moving towards elections as soon as possible”, insisted the Algerian President during the meeting. This request did not come as a surprise to the Malian authorities because, according to them, a return to constitutional order is a necessity. This remains the vision of all Mali’s international partners as well as the Malian transitional authorities themselves.
However, for two different reasons, the intervention of the Algerian president shook the Malian transitional authorities. Firstly, because it implies that these elections would not be won. This appears to be an attack on the current Malian authorities. Secondly, the Algerian president’s words are described as ‘doctor after death’. And for good reason, the misunderstandings about the organisation of the elections in Mali have already been resolved since the beginning of July. During this period, ECOWAS and Mali reached an agreement that allowed them to lift most of the economic sanctions imposed on Mali.
The implementation of the 2015 peace agreement, an indispensable act for Mali.
At the end of the meeting with the press, Abdelmadjid Tebboune did not fail to place particular emphasis on the need to implement the 2015 peace agreement. This agreement was concluded in Bamako seven years ago between the armed groups of the North and the Malian government and then abandoned by the Malian authorities. He therefore calls on Bamako to revive the 2015 peace agreement, as this could help the Malian authorities solve some of the political problems. “As long as the agreement is not implemented, the problems in Mali will persist,” says Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
As a reminder, since October 2021, the monitoring committee of the 2015 peace agreement has not met. But in order to relaunch the implementation of the peace agreement after several months of waiting, the Malian government and the armed groups of the North began this Monday, August 1, work that should last until the end of the week.
Charbel Ahouandjinou (stag)
