When West African leaders prepared to respond to the coup in Mali, the appointment of the coup leader increased the stakes.

The Constitutional Court of Mali appointed the colonel who led the military coup this week as the country’s new interim leader.

The ruling was issued late on Friday, stating that Asimi Goita will “lead the transition process to completion” and will be named “transitional president, head of state”.

The court said the decision was made due to the “vacancy of the presidency” after the resignation of caretaker President Bah Ndaw.

Goita, 38, was Ndaw’s deputy and ordered the arrest of the former leader after the cabinet was reorganized. The cabinet was reorganized on Monday and two soldiers were removed from their posts.

Ndaw resigned during his detention on Wednesday and was later released.

Friday’s ruling increased the stakes, as West African leaders are preparing to meet on Sunday to decide how they will respond to the acquisition. This jeopardizes the transition to democracy and may undermine the relationship between Al Qaeda and ISIL Regional struggles of linked armed groups).

Goita’s seizure of power is his second time in less than a year.

In August last year, the young colonel launched a coup and removed Mali’s president-elect Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, protesting demonstrations and the government’s failure to quell protests by armed groups. Faced with the threat of regional sanctions, Goita and other coup leaders agreed to transfer power to the transitional government, which would return the country to civilian rule.

The colonel was subsequently appointed as the vice president of the interim government, and his colleagues were awarded important cabinet positions.

At that time, the mediator of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) insisted that the transition to Mali, which was scheduled to end in February, was still dominated by civilians.

The EU stated in a declaration that the vice president of the transitional period “can not replace the president under any circumstances.”

The heads of state of ECOWAS are scheduled to meet in Ghana on Sunday.

Earlier Friday, Gotha delivered his first public speech since the military takeover and said that the military had no choice but to intervene.

He said: “We must choose between the chaos and cohesion of the defense and security forces, and we choose cohesion.”

He added that he will appoint a new prime minister from among the members of the M5-RFP coalition, which led the protests against Keita last year and broke away from Ndaw and Ouane during the transition period.

Alliance member Jeamille Bitar (Jeamille Bitar) said that the selection for this position will be the former government minister Choguel Maiga (Choguel Maiga).