One of the army officers behind an August coup in Mali was named on Saturday to lead a new transitional legislative body, a spokesman for the authorities said.

At its inaugural meeting, a transitional council of 121 members approved Colonel Malick Diaw, one of the coup's organizers, to be the president of the transition council.  

His nomination was backed by 111 members, said a spokesman for the group that led the junta — the National Committee for the Salvation of the People.

The council will be responsible for voting on reforms and legislative changes during an 18-month transitional period before elections are held.

Diaw's appointment is likely to anger the M5-RFP coalition of opposition groups, which led mass protests before the coup and backed Keita's removal, but has voiced alarm over what it sees as the militarization of the political sphere.

This is the third military figure appointed to hold key government positions after the ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18. Former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw was picked by the coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until elections in September, which are expected in 18 months.

Col. Goita, the junta's leader, is the vice president.

Thirteen out of Mali's 20 regions are now governed by military officers following new appointments in November.

Mali's international partners and neighbors worry political instability after the coup could derail a joint fight against militant groups with links to al Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have grown stronger in recent years and made vast swathes of the country ungovernable.

(With input from Reuters)