Mali | Military authorities reauthorize political party activities, suspended in April

By Julie Peh

The military authorities in power in Mali announced on Wednesday that they were once again authorising the activities of political parties and political associations. They had been suspended on 10 April due to the danger that their activities posed to a national “dialogue”.

“The government has decided to lift the suspension measure that affected political parties and the political activities of associations,”

This is stated in a statement by the Council of Ministers, dominated by the military who took over the country by force in 2020.

The junta leader, Colonel Assimi Goïta, had decreed the suspension, accusing the parties of “sterile discussions” and “subversion”. The parties were protesting at the time against the colonels’ continued leadership of the country after the March 2024 deadline, when they had pledged to hand over to civilians after elections.

The main parties and what remains of the opposition had decided to boycott this “dialogue”. The dialogue has been held since then with the participation of the regime’s supporters and resulted in May in “recommendations” advocating the military remaining in power for “two to five years” more, as well as the candidacy of the current head of the junta in a future presidential election.

The junta has continued to crack down on dissenting voices since then. Since late June, the authorities have imprisoned eleven party leaders and opponents who signed a statement published on March 31 by their coalition calling on the junta to return power to civilians. They accuse them of “conspiracy.”

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