Keypoints:
- Mali courts reject appeals over party ban
- Dissolved parties vow international legal fight
- Junta tightens grip ahead of proposed five-year term
MALI’S judiciary has rejected a series of appeals filed by opposition leaders seeking to overturn the military government’s sweeping dissolution of all political parties, according to a statement released Friday by representatives of the banned groups.
The ruling bolsters the position of the junta led by General Assimi Goita, who issued a decree on May 13 that outlawed all political organisations and banned public meetings. The move has drawn widespread condemnation from within Mali and abroad as an authoritarian crackdown on civic freedoms.
According to AFP, several political factions submitted challenges to Bamako courts in a bid to reverse the order, arguing it violated fundamental rights. But their efforts were dismissed this week, prompting calls for further legal resistance.
Opposition vows to fight on
In a statement signed by Mountaga Tall, a lawyer and leader of the dissolved National Congress for Democratic Initiative (Cnid), the banned parties condemned the court’s refusal to intervene and pledged to pursue appeals at higher levels.
‘The applicants will continue their fight by appealing to the Bamako Court of Appeal,’ the statement read. It added that they had already initiated proceedings before the Supreme Court and vowed to take the matter to international legal institutions.
‘The battle will continue in Mali as well as internationally,’ it said, describing the ban as a direct assault on freedoms of association, assembly, and political participation.
From promises to power consolidation
The sweeping ban comes after a junta-led national consultation in April recommended the dissolution of political parties and proposed stricter conditions for forming new ones. The same forum also called for General Goita to remain president for a renewable five-year term — despite earlier pledges to transition back to civilian rule by March 2024.
Authorities claim the move is aimed at streamlining Mali’s political system, which includes around 300 registered groups. But critics argue it is a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate opposition and consolidate power ahead of any future electoral process.
Freedoms eroding under military rule
The party ban is just the latest in a pattern of restrictive measures taken since the military seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Mali remains under military control, with constitutional reforms delayed and freedoms increasingly curtailed.
The West African country also continues to battle a decade-long insurgency by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, compounded by widespread lawlessness and humanitarian strain.
Opposition leaders fear that the judiciary’s failure to protect political freedoms signals a dangerous shift toward permanent military rule. ‘We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of democracy in Mali,’ Tall warned.
As legal options narrow within Mali’s own institutions, the political opposition is turning to regional and international bodies for redress — determined, they say, not to let democracy in Mali die without a fight.
