Mali: the transition period officially ends but the authorities remain in place
In Mali, March 26 is the date of the fall of the military dictatorship of General Moussa Traoré in 1991. Thirty-three years later, ironically, this day officially marks the end of the period of transition which began with the military coup of August 2020. But despite the commitments made by the current Malian transitional authorities, in fact, the latter are still well in place and seem determined to remain in power .
Colonel Assimi Goïta, September 22, 2022. AFP - OUSMANE MAKAVELI
By: David Baché
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The presidential decree signed by Colonel Assimi Goïta, two years ago, on June 6, 2022, extended the duration of the transition by 24 months, starting on March 26, 2022. This commitment will therefore not have been respected and the presidential election scheduled to take place last month has been postponed. Six months ago, when the announcement was made, Bamako mentioned a
“slight postponement
”, but to date, no new date has been set.
The duration of the transition had been the subject of difficult negotiations with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but since then, Mali has left the regional organization and elections have not been held. has been the subject of any recent concrete declaration from Bamako. And to be honest, no one really expects it anymore, at least in the short term.
Opponents who want a return to democratic constitutional order perceive this situation as a hostage-taking of the country by the colonels who have been in power for almost four years now.
Supporters of the transitional authorities, for their part, plead for maintaining the regime in place. Some even openly refuse the holding of elections which would, in their eyes, be “
imposed
”. It remains to be seen whether the Malian transitional authorities will take the trouble to “
formalize
” this situation, whether the Constitutional Court will react on its own or whether the transition will continue as if nothing had happened.
“
We gave them a mission
”
Hamman Touré is the president of Msat, an organization which supports the Malian transitional authorities and, in particular, Colonel Assimi Goïta. For him, the continued power of these authorities and the extension, in fact, of the transition period, does not bother him at all.
On the contrary, Hamman Touré sees it as a form of necessity due to the terrorist threat which still weighs on Mali. “
It doesn’t bother me at all because we entrusted them with a mission. They're not finished, so let's give them time to finish! We want transition in this country because we want tranquility. Those who are there have not failed, they are governing well. As soon as the territory is liberated, why not elections? But every day, we hear that there have been killings, attacks. The elections
[are important, Editor's note],
it's true, but what happens on the ground, everyone is a witness! Do you think that if we go to elections, those who will come
[who will be elected, Editor's note]
will not encounter the same problems
? Who is better suited than a soldier for security, who
? Is there anything better
? Let's be calm, let's have confidence in our authorities. When the territory is free and the security of our populations is in order, that is when the transition will end.
»
“Malians want to elect their president”
An opinion that Hamza Bechir Sow, of the Jiguiya Koura coalition, does not share. He is one of the spokespersons for the Synergy of Action for Mali, which brings together political parties and civil society organizations opposed to the current transitional authorities.
“
This situation is becoming more and more untenable. Many voices are already starting to be raised. We hope that, like what happened in Senegal with the Constitutional Council which forced Macky Sall to organize the elections, our experienced magistrates will do everything to ensure that these elections are held and that we can have a civil transition beyond March 26. This cannot continue! There are power cuts which are becoming chronic, insecurity, the high cost of living... We have so many problems! This team has shown its limits. She has been in power for almost four years now. The Malians only aspire to choose their president, the Malians want to democratically elect their president to begin a new beginning for this country.
»
Read alsoMali: Assimi Goïta promulgated the new electoral law
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