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| - The United States called Tuesday for Mali to fix dates for an election, urging it during a United Nations Security Council meeting to move ahead amid concerns over the slow pace of reform. Army officers ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18, 2020 after weeks of protests fuelled by frustrations over perceived corruption and a seemingly endless jihadist insurgency. But they subsequently handed power to an interim civilian government -- which is meant to rule for 18 months before staging elections -- under the threat of international sanctions. No exact date has yet been announced. "We strongly encourage Malian authorities to issue a finalized timeline confirming dates for the electoral process and to fully use Minusma's election support capacities," US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, referring to the peacekeeping mission that has been deployed in the country since 2013. "We need to make sure free and fair elections happen on time," she said during a Security Council video conference dedicated to the situation in Mali. "The top priority must be organizing and holding free and fair elections by the end of the transition period," the US diplomat said. "These must be administered by competent and impartial election authorities to issue a finalized timeline confirming dates for the electoral process." Undersecretary-general for UN peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix said: "I encourage Malian political actors to work in a spirit of compromise and enact reforms aimed at creating an environment conducive to peaceful, inclusive, transparent and credible elections." "These elections represent the litmus test for the current transition and a necessary step towards the return of Mali to constitutional rule, Lacroix said, warning about a deteriorating security situation in the country's northern and central regions. Representatives from other countries also commented, with the French also encouraging on-time elections and Niger calling for strengthening Minusma. And UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commented in a recent letter to the body obtained by AFP, in which he said it would be "premature" to talk about a Minusma drawdown even after any elections. "The conditions for a phased, coordinated, and deliberate transition of the Mission security responsibilities without jeopardizing the stability of Mali and the region will not be in place by the end of the political transition," he said. prh/seb/caw/st
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