By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The military government which has been in power in Mali since 2020 has adopted a new constitution that gives the President more powers and the armed forces as well.
Among the powers vested on the President, which the Interim President Col Assimi Goïta can exercise, is power to dictate government policy and power to dissolve parliament.
The new constitution also creates a senate and demotes French from an official to a working language.
The opposition movement has criticised the constitution amendment, which the electoral commission says were backed by 97% of votes cast in last month’s referendum.
Critics have expressed concern that the new constitution makes it easier for generals to break their promise of handing power back to civilian leaders after a presidential election expected to hold February 2024.
A legal case to have the referendum results annulled, because the vote was not held in all parts of Mali, was rejected by the
The constitutional court had rejected a suit seeking the annulment of the referendum because the vote was not held in all parts of Mali.
“Numerous irregularities” and “violations of the law” also meant the referendum result should be thrown out, according to Mali’s opposition movement – made up of political parties and civil society organisations.
It has been labelled “a plot on democracy” by Ismaël Sacko – the leader of the Social Democratic Party which was last month dissolved by the junta.
He told Mali’s judiciary “to get its act together”, AFP reports.
There was huge popular support for the military junta when it seized power after mass protests against then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta three years ago. People were fed up with economic uncertainty, a disputed election and chronic insecurity.
Since then, data suggests Mali’s military government has made little progress in its fightback against Islamists who control parts of the country.
