The move was announced in a presidential decree issued by Gen. Assimi Goita, Mali’s leader, and read on state television channel ORTM.
This is coming days after Maiga criticised the country’s military leadership for failing to set a date for elections that should restore civilian rule after military power grabs in 2020 and 2021
Mali has been ruled by military leaders since a junta seized power in 2020 and staged another coup the following year.
In June 2022, the junta promised a return to civilian rule by March 2024, but later postponed elections. No date has been set yet for the presidential election. A new prime minister has not been announced yet.
Maïga, who was appointed by the military two years ago, accused the junta of postponing the elections without informing him and said confusion around an end to the transition could pose “serious challenges and the risk of going backwards,” at a rally of his supporters on Saturday. In response to Maiga’s statement, the junta organized demonstrations against him.
The sacking comes a week after Mali’s junta arrested one of the country’s top politicians for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso.