Talks in Mali end with plan for transitional government

Talks on Mali's political transition ended on Saturday with a road map to lead the West African nation out of a crisis that erupted in the wake of a recent coup.

The talks in Bamako, which included 500 participants from across the country, outlined plans for a transitional government.

The transitional government will be in place for 18 months, and will consist of 25 members of government. There will also be a transitional council of 121 members, representative of Mali's various groups.

The president of the transitional government will be the head of state, assisted by a vice president. Neither will be allowed to stand for elective office once the transitional government ends.

The president and vice president will be selected by a council set up by the military junta that led the August coup.

The plan did not say when the president or the council selecting the leader would be chosen.

The talks, which began on Thursday, were chaired by the Council for the Salvation of the People (CNSP).

The CNSP led the military coup that forced Mali's former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign.