MALI’S ruling junta has announced a referendum on a new constitution that will take place on June 18, according to a decree read out by government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga on state television.
The referendum will ask voters to approve or
reject the draft constitution, which significantly strengthens the power of the president. The new constitution is the first major step in plans by the military to continue governing the country until 2024, following the ousting of former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020. Elections to restore a civilian government are scheduled for February 2024.
‘The country is called upon to decide on the Constitution project,’ said Maiga. ‘Members of the security forces in a nation wracked by insurgency will vote early on June 11.’
The draft constitution would give the president the power to ‘determine the policy of the nation,’ appoint the prime minister and ministers, and terminate their functions. Mali has been battling a security crisis since jihadist and separatist insurgencies broke out in the north in 2012.
The referendum has been delayed several times, missing a previous deadline of March 19. The announcement of the new referendum comes amid growing international pressure on the junta to restore civilian rule.
The United Nations and regional bloc ECOWAS have both called for a rapid transition to civilian rule, and the European Union has suspended its training mission to the Malian army in protest at the junta’s continued rule.
