380
Mali’s transitional president and junta leader, General Assimi Goita, has officially granted himself a five-year presidential term renewable indefinitely under a new law signed earlier this week, sparking fresh concerns over democratic backsliding in the West African nation.
The law, which was made public on Thursday but signed on Tuesday, allows Goita to remain in power until at least 2030, effectively abandoning previous commitments to return the country to civilian rule by March 2024. The bill had already been passed last week by Mali’s military-appointed legislative body and approved by the Council of Ministers last month.
The new law provides that Goita shall “be head of state for a period of five (05) years, renewable as many times as needed, until the pacification of the country.” The use of the phrase “until the pacification of the country” is alarming to civil society organizations, who take it as an open-ended excuse for dictatorial rule.
Goita, who took power in 2021 following two consecutive coups, originally vowed a democratic transition and was greeted by some Malians as a stabilizing leader who could bring the country back to order amid an ongoing jihadist insurgency. That vow has since been discredited.
Earlier this year, a national consultation organized by the junta and broadly boycotted by opposition political parties proposed Goita be made president without an election and given a renewable five-year mandate. It also suggested the dissolution of parties and the imposition of more stringent regulations for their founding.
In May, the junta continued to ban all associations and political parties, as well as public assemblies, citing concerns about national unity. These actions have far curbed civic space and stoked anxiety about authoritarian consolidation.
Under Goita, Mali has also changed its geopolitical alignment, breaking with France and aligning with Russia for military and diplomatic cooperation. Together with Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali has established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a regional coalition for collective security operations. The three juntas have committed to establishing a 5,000-strong unified military force.
Russian military contractors who belong to the Africa Corps, who are fighting alongside Malian forces, have been accused of human rights violations against civilians in counter-terror operations.
Ongoing violence and increasing repression by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked jihadist groups notwithstanding, Goita remains popular among some Malians who perceive him as a symbol of national reform and sovereignty.
