<p>Mali's lawmakers on Monday approved a plan allowing the military junta to rule for up to five years, AFP journalists said, despite regional sanctions imposed on the country over delayed elections.</p>.<p>After staging a coup in the impoverished Sahel state in August 2020, the country's military rulers initially promised to stage a vote in February 2022.</p>.<p>But in December last year, the junta proposed staying in power for between six months and five years, citing security concerns.</p>.<p>In response, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) last month imposed a trade embargo and closed its borders with Mali. The bloc has called the potential length of the transition unacceptable.</p>.<p>On Monday, 120 members of Mali's 121-seat interim parliament voted to allow the junta to govern for up to five years, in line with the earlier junta proposal.</p>.<p>No lawmakers in the army-dominated legislature voted against the bill or abstained, AFP journalists present said.</p>.<p>The bill does not mention on what date a future election might be held.</p>.<p>Mali's strongman Colonel Assimi Goita has pledged to restore civilian rule, but he has refused to commit to a date.</p>.<p>Tensions with the junta contributed to France's announcement last week that it was withdrawing its troops from Mali which are deployed under the anti-jihadist Barkhane force in the Sahel.</p>.<p>The landlocked nation of 21 million people has struggled to contain a brutal jihadist insurgency that emerged in 2012, before spreading three years later to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.</p>.<p>Across the region, thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and two million people have been displaced by the conflict, of which Mali remains the epicentre.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>Mali's lawmakers on Monday approved a plan allowing the military junta to rule for up to five years, AFP journalists said, despite regional sanctions imposed on the country over delayed elections.</p>.<p>After staging a coup in the impoverished Sahel state in August 2020, the country's military rulers initially promised to stage a vote in February 2022.</p>.<p>But in December last year, the junta proposed staying in power for between six months and five years, citing security concerns.</p>.<p>In response, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) last month imposed a trade embargo and closed its borders with Mali. The bloc has called the potential length of the transition unacceptable.</p>.<p>On Monday, 120 members of Mali's 121-seat interim parliament voted to allow the junta to govern for up to five years, in line with the earlier junta proposal.</p>.<p>No lawmakers in the army-dominated legislature voted against the bill or abstained, AFP journalists present said.</p>.<p>The bill does not mention on what date a future election might be held.</p>.<p>Mali's strongman Colonel Assimi Goita has pledged to restore civilian rule, but he has refused to commit to a date.</p>.<p>Tensions with the junta contributed to France's announcement last week that it was withdrawing its troops from Mali which are deployed under the anti-jihadist Barkhane force in the Sahel.</p>.<p>The landlocked nation of 21 million people has struggled to contain a brutal jihadist insurgency that emerged in 2012, before spreading three years later to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.</p>.<p>Across the region, thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and two million people have been displaced by the conflict, of which Mali remains the epicentre.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>