BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s lawmakers have selected a member of the president’s political party to lead the National Assembly, the second most powerful position in the West African nation after the president.

Issaka Sidibe, a lawmaker representing the town of Koulikoro, 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Bamako, was chosen Wednesday morning. He is second in line to the president. The opposition did not field a candidate in the assembly dominated by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s coalition.