By John Ikani
Mali’s military government on Friday passed a new electoral law, marking a step towards a return to constitutional rule.
Heritage Times (HT) gathered that
the text, which leaves the door open to junta members seeking election, was adopted on June 17 by the National Transitional Council, the legislative body set up by Mali’s ruling military junta, led by Col Assimi Goita.
“The president of the transition, head of state, enacts the law” voted on June 17 by the National Transition Council (NTC), said a presidential decree published on Friday in the official gazette.
It notably sets up a single election management body in place of a contested three-party system.
The adoption of the bill comes amid fraught negotiations between Mali and ECOWAS, whose mediator, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, arrived in Bamako on Thursday before leaving on Friday.
The West African country has been under harsh economic sanctions imposed by regional bloc ECOWAS in response to delays in returning power to civilians.
Mali and the 15-member Economic Community of West African States have been at odds over the putsch leaders’ proposed five- and then two-year timeline to hold elections, with the bloc deeming them too lengthy.
But the interim government issued a decree on June 6 affixing the two-year timetable, to be counted from March 2022, while negotiations with ECOWAS were still ongoing.
The bloc said it regretted the decision and would continue to engage Malian authorities to reach a “mutually agreed timeline”.
Heads of state from ECOWAS member countries are expected to hold another summit on the matter by July 3.
