Mali’s ruling junta will postpone a constitutional referendum but maintain a previously agreed timeline to return to civilian rule, a government spokesperson said in a statement read to the press Friday. “The transitional government informs national and international opinion that the date of the referendum scheduled for March 19, 2023… will be slightly postponed,” Abdoulaye Maiga said. The referendum is a milestone on the road to elections promised for February 2024.
With its postponement, the military will miss the first deadline of its own timetable to return to civilian rule. Maiga downplayed the significance of the move. “The timetable is a planning tool,” he said. “The deadline remains the date we were able to negotiate with ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) and the head of state is firmly committed to respecting this date.”
The delay had been expected for some time, as almost no arrangements had yet been made for the vote and the draft constitution was only handed over to junta leader Assimi Goita on February 27.
ECOWAS in July 2022 lifted a heavy regime of trade and financial sanctions against Mali after the junta commited to a March 2024 handover following February 2024 elections. The measures were first taken in January 2022 when the junta was considering remaining in power for up to five years.
‘Imprescriptible crime’
Maiga said the junta would first install subdivisions of the election management body in all regions of the country before holding the vote. He also said it wanted to familiarise the public with the constitutional draft. “The new date of the referendum will be set after consultation with the independent election management authority and all stakeholders in the electoral process,” Maiga said in the statement.
The new constitution is a key element of a vast reform project the military has invoked to justify continuing to govern until 2024. The draft significantly strengthens the power of the president. In the new constitution, the president rather than the government “determines the policy of the nation”, appoints the prime minister and ministers and has the right to terminate their functions. The president can also dissolve the National Assembly.
Pressure from ECOWAS not to have junta members stand for election has failed to dispel speculation about Goita’s intentions to run in 2024.
The draft constitution states that Mali is an “independent, sovereign, unitary, indivisible, democratic, secular and social republic”. Imams in Mali have been contesting the principle of secularism and have called on the faithful to oppose it. The draft proclaims any coup as an “imprescriptible crime”. But those who carried out the 2020 coup, and another one in 2021 to consolidate their hold, would be safe since acts prior to the promulgation of the constitution would be covered by amnesty laws.
Mali is in the throes of an 11-year-old security crisis triggered by a regional revolt in the north that developed into a full-blown jihadist insurgency. Since August 2020, it has been ruled by the military, leading to a breakup with France, the country’s traditional ally, and close ties with Russia.
