On Sunday, Malians will vote on constitutional revisions to strengthen presidential powers ahead of a projected transition from military rule to democracy.
Following pressure from regional countries, Mali’s military leaders have committed to holding presidential elections in February 2024. The referendum is the first in a succession of scheduled polls.
The junta postponed the referendum for three months due to logistics. Sunday’s vote shows the junta’s ability to organize voting in a country where jihadist groups have dominated the desert north and center.
Rising instability prompted two military takeovers in 2020 and 2021, but the junta has failed to quell the insurgency or improve life in one of the world’s poorest countries.
No consensus exists before Sunday’s vote.
The junta’s “Yes” campaign has suffered due to divided political parties.
Last week’s gathering in Bamako’s 50,000-seat stadium was poorly attended, leading the authorities to offer free gas and cash to locals who attended Friday’s rally.
Opponents of the revisions worry about the new constitution giving the president greater power ahead of the elections amid uncertainties regarding junta commander Assimi Goita’s candidacy. They dispute the constitutionality of non-democratically elected government amendments.
“Too much power in the hands of the future president will squash all the other institutions,” warned opposition party PARENA spokeswoman Sidi Toure, stressing that the new constitution bars bi-nationals from running for president.
“Mali and Malians are profoundly divided,” said Toure, whose party supports a “No” vote.
An armed group that signed a significant 2015 peace pact, which has been fragile since the junta gained control, withdrew from the rewriting process and boycotted the vote, calling the language “not sufficiently inclusive.”
Religious leaders in Mali’s Muslim majority have criticized the state’s secularism, calling it a legacy of France.
However, advocates have supported the creation of a separate court of auditors, legitimizing traditional leadership and integrating national languages alongside French.
