Mali junta suspends political activities amid growing unrest
Mali’s ruling military government has announced a nationwide suspension of all political activities “until further notice”, Africanews reported on May 9th.
The order, signed on May 7th by transitional leader General Assimi Goita, referenced “reasons of public order” and affects political parties as well as other organisations.
This move comes shortly after a pro-democracy demonstration and just before an anti-junta protest scheduled for May 9th. The military has maintained control of the country since carrying out coups in both 2020 and 2021.
Despite warnings from the government, hundreds of activists took to the streets of Bamako on the weekend of May 2nd to protest a proposed law that would disband all political parties.
“I’m not surprised, I expected this because this is their way of preventing us from carrying out our activities, but we will continue to defend democracy in Mali,” said Cheick Oumar Doumbia, one of the leaders of the weekend demonstration, in an interview with AP.
The military government had initially pledged to hold elections in February 2022, but that deadline has been repeatedly delayed. The junta has previously suspended political party activities in the lead-up to major political events.
In April 2024, a comparable suspension was announced ahead of an “inter-Malian dialogue,” where extending the transition timeline from two to five years was proposed.
In the previous year, Mali joined forces with Burkina Faso and Niger to establish the Alliance of Sahel States, following the withdrawal of all three military-led governments from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS. All three countries have severed ties with France, their former colonial ruler, and are increasingly turning to Russia for support.
Mali has also been grappling with a worsening security crisis for over ten years, as armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State continue to launch attacks across the country.
Africanews / AP/ Al Jazeera / Maghrebi.org
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