Since March 22, 2012 Mali faces a double crisis. In Bamako, the military pushed President Amadou Toumani Toure. In the north, the Tuareg rebels and Islamist groups have taken the three main cities of the region which are Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu.

After multiple pressures from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the International Community, the military junta had agreed to a return to constitutional order. According to the Constitution of Mali, President of the National Assembly, Mr Dioncounda Traoré, was invested as Acting President of the Republic.

Expected to last 40 days, the mandate of President Traoré in position since April 12, must be completed on May 22 according to the Constitution.

To avoid the constitutional vacuum after this date, the Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS) sent two mediators in Bamako since Tuesday May 8 to discuss the transition presidency and duration.
The two emissaries of the ECOWAS mediation, for now, haven’t arrived to find an answer to a vital question: who will lead the transition in Mali?

The current Acting President, Dioncounda Traoré, is the favorite of ECOWAS, International Community and a portion of the political class. But Captain Sanogo the head of the junta himself is interested in the chair and he has the support of his entourage (military) and a portion of the political class in Mali.

What’s going to happen after May 22, 2012?

The objective of mediation is to find a rapid solution. If nothing is done before May 22, it will be like the “leap into the unknown.” However, there is an emergency situation in the North. Armed groups that control this part of the country reinforce their positions every day. The exiled people are becoming more numerous. To these, are added the internally displaced population in Mali who began seriously to be unable to feed.

The people of Mali hope this obstacle will be lifted very quickly. If this is done, it remains to develop a precise schedule of the tasks which are the presidential and legislative elections organization after liberation of the occupied part.