Col. Assimi Goita, center, who has declared himself the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, is accompanied by group spokesman Ismael Wague, left, and group member Malick Diaw, center-left, as they meet with a high-level delegation from the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS, at the Ministry of Defense in Bamako, Mali, Aug 22, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

BAMAKO - West African leaders seeking a return to democracy in Mali will on Friday demand that the military junta that ousted the president in a coup last week appoint a civilian head of government to oversee a transition lasting no more than a year.

The junta has said the political transition will last at least two years, but the leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will tell the officers that engineered Aug 18 the coup to cut that period in half

The junta has said the political transition will last at least two years, but the leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will tell the officers that engineered Aug 18 the coup to cut that period in half.

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The report, not published by ECOWAS but posted on several websites, also requires that civilians fill the posts of both president and prime minister.

Mali’s neighbours and international partners fear that prolonged instability in Mali could further destabilize the West African nation and undermine the fight against Islamist militants there and in the wider Sahel region.

The mediators held three days of talks with the coup leaders that ended on Monday with no agreement, but actions by the junta suggest there may be room for a compromise.

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The coup leaders, who are anxious for regional sanctions that ECOWAS imposed on the country since President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s ouster to be eased, had originally said the transition back to civilian government would take three years.

As a potential gesture of goodwill ahead of Friday’s virtual summit with ECOWAS leaders, the soldiers on Thursday released Keita and allowed him to return home.

“The onus is on the (junta) to provide assurance on a quick return to political normalcy through a credible process. This would facilitate the process for the lifting of sanctions,” the mediators’ report also said.

Ten days ago Keita dissolved parliament and resigned, hours after being detained at gunpoint and taken to military barracks outside the capital.

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According to the document, Keita repeatedly told the ECOWAS mission he stepped down voluntarily “for the peace and reconciliation of Mali.”

The junta freeing Keita points to a diplomatic effort to try and hold onto power, said Doussouba Konate, a Bamako-based manager at Accountability Lab Mali. “They’ve managed to gain trust by being well-organized,” she said by phone.

One of the coup leaders, Malick Diaw, traveled to neighboring Burkina Faso on Thursday to lobby that nation’s president on the transition process, Ouagadougou-based Radio Omega reported. The junta wants to remain in power until 2023, when Keita’s mandate was due to expire, while ECOWAS has pressed for a return to democratic rule within a year.

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Keita is being guarded by army officers at his home, said a person who spoke to Keita and asked not to be identified because he’s not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.