Iran Press/ Africa: The court is central to the West African country’s latest political crisis as it had overturned the results of a parliamentary poll held in March that was marred by the kidnapping of an opposition leader and allegations of fraud. Keita, 75, president since 2013, has yet to comment on the vote’s legitimacy.
Addressing the nation following a second day of unrest, Keita said he revoked the decrees appointing the remaining members of the court in order to find a solution to the electoral dispute. The leader has faced rising discontent over the contested polls as well as his government’s failure to tackle an escalating security crisis and contain the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reported.
Opponents are unhappy with his handling of Mali's long-running jihadist conflict, an economic crisis and the disputed elections.
Mali's national television ORTM went off the air on Friday after hundreds of protesters entered the broadcaster's building in the capital.
Mali has been in turmoil since Tuareg rebels and loosely-allied militants took over the northern desert regions from the Malian military control in 2012. The ensuing power vacuum allowed extremists linked to al-Qaeda to dominate the territory.
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