Mali - Government
A number of political associations in Mali joined forces in May 2023 to oppose the military government’s decision to hold a referendum on a new constitution on 18 June 2023. Voters will have to respond by a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to the following question on the referendum: “Do you approve of the draft constitution?” The referendum is a milestone on the country’s path towards elections promised for February after a coup three years earlier. The referendum had been previously scheduled for March 19 but was postponed. The coalition is demanding the cancellation of the decree to convene the electoral bodies because it considers the ruling authorities illegitimate. The group also points out that “more than two-thirds of the territory [is] being plunged into generalised insecurity”.
Constitutional change has long been debated in Mali. A referendum scheduled for 2017 did not take place. In April 2021, the interim government set up by army colonels, announced that a referendum would be held that October. Within weeks, that government was swept aside in a coup, and Colonel Assimi Goita was named the transitional president.
The Economic Community of West African States lifted a set of trade and financial sanctions against Mali in July after the military government committed to a March 2024 handover. The sanctions were imposed in January 2022 when the military government was considering remaining in power for up to five years. The draft constitution significantly strengthens the power of the president. Under it, the president rather than the government appoints the prime minister and ministers and has the right to sack them as well as dissolve parliament. Other sections of the draft have already triggered controversy. A part of the draft states that Mali is an “independent, sovereign, unitary, indivisible, democratic, secular and social republic”. Imams, a powerful class in the country, have been contesting the principle of secularism and have called on Muslims to oppose it.
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 rebellion. Frustration that French troops, who had been in the country since 2013, could not root out the rebels led to rising anti-French sentiments. That and military rule in the country led to soured relations with France, the country’s traditional ally and former coloniser, and closer ties with Russia.
Under Mali's 1992 constitution, the president is chief of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president is elected to a 5-year term, with a limit of two terms. The president appoints the prime minister as head of government. The president chairs the Council of Ministers (the prime minister and 28 other ministers, including 5 women), which adopts proposals for laws submitted to the National Assembly for approval.
The National Assembly is the sole legislative arm of the government. It currently consists of 147 members. Representation is apportioned according to the population of administrative districts. Election is direct and by party or independent list. The term of office is 5 years. The Assembly meets for two regular sessions each year. It debates and votes on legislation proposed either by one of its members or by the government and has the right to question government ministers about government actions and policies. Sixteen political parties, aggregated into five parliamentary groups, are represented in the Assembly. In legislative elections held in July 2007, the ADEMA Party regained the majority it lost in 2002, winning 51 seats, ahead of another party aligned with President Toure, the Union for Republic and Democracy (URD), which won 36. The former majority party at the National Assembly, the Rassemblement Pour le Mali (RPM) of former Prime Minister Ibrahim B. Keita, won 11 seats. Other than the RPM, President Toure had the support of most of the political parties represented in the National Assembly.
Mali's constitution provides for a multiparty democracy, with the only restriction being a prohibition against parties based on ethnic, religious, regional, or gender lines. In addition to those political parties represented in the National Assembly, others are active in municipal councils.
Administratively, Mali is divided into eight regions and the capital district of Bamako, each under the authority of an appointed governor. Each region consists of five to nine districts (or cercles), administered by prefets (commandants). Cercles are divided into communes, which, in turn, are divided into villages or quarters. Since independence, successive governments have shown varying levels of commitment to a process of decentralization, whereby local governments would have greater control over resource allocation. Under the current administration, this process is ongoing, with the establishment of 702 elected municipal councils, headed by elected mayors. Election of local officials took place; greater local control over finances and the reduction of administrative control by the central government are being implemented.
Mali's legal system is based on codes inherited at independence from France. New laws have been enacted to make the system conform to Malian life, but French colonial laws not abrogated still have the force of law. The constitution provides for the independence of the judiciary. However, the Ministry of Justice appoints judges and supervises both law enforcement and judicial functions. The Supreme Court has both judicial and administrative powers. Under the constitution, there is a separate constitutional court and a high court of justice with the power to try senior government officials in cases of treason.
Although Mali’s judicial system is theoretically independent, it has been subject to political influences. Numerous business complaints are awaiting an outcome in the courts. Judges and prosecutors’ careers depend on the Ministry of Justice, and hence their independence is compromised. The judicial system is infested by corruption leading to flawed decisions. The dispute resolution process can take multiple years. Court decisions are frequently based more on corruption and political interference rather than legal merit.
Mali's government said 22 June 2017 that it would delay the 09 July 2017 referendum on constitutional amendments that would reinforce presidential powers and create new regions under an accord signed in 2015 with northern separatists. The changes had been the subject of protests in the capital, Bamako, and across the West African country. Crucially, three parties in the governing coalition asked for a delay. The government had signed a peace deal to end the separatist movement by the Coordination of Azawad Movements, led by ethnic Tuaregs. Under the deal, new regions were to be created under the constitution.
On 21 June, the Council of Ministers postponed the constitutional referendum planned for 9 July, to allow the Constitutional Court to consider a petition filed by opposition members of Parliament challenging the legality of the constitutional review process. On 4 July, the Constitutional Court ruled that the process was compliant with the constitution but proposed amendments to a number of articles, which the Government accepted. On 9 August, following months of growing tensions and demonstrations in Bamako, the platform “An tè a banna! Touche pas à ma Constitution” comprising, inter alia, political opposition members, civil society and trade union representatives, issued an ultimatum to President Keita requesting that he withdraw the draft constitution.
On 18 August 2017, President Keita announced that he was staying the referendum on the Constitution in the nation’s higher interest, to preserve a peaceful social climate and to avoid confrontations.
Keita was forced to resign August 2020 after mutinous soldiers detained him and top officials in his government. Keita, who said he had no choice but step down, was democratically elected in 2013 and was serving a second term.
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 rebellion. ECOWAS lifted a set of trade and financial sanctions against Mali in July 2022 after the military government committed to a March 2024 handover. The sanctions were imposed in January 2022 when the military government was considering remaining in power for up to five years.
Mali’s interim government postponed a constitutional referendum, a key step on the country’s path towards elections meant to restore democracy after a military takeover in 2020. “The transitional government informs national and international opinion that the date of the referendum scheduled for March 19, 2023 … will be slightly postponed,” it said in a statement released on 10 March 2023. The referendum is a milestone on the road to elections promised for February. With its postponement, the military will miss the first deadline on a timetable it drew up to return Mali to civilian rule.
The draft constitution significantly strengthens the power of the president. Under it, the president rather than the government “determines the policy of the nation”, appoints the prime minister and ministers, and has the right to sack them. The president could also dissolve the National Assembly.
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