Mali’s army junta holds referendum on new structure that it calls a step towards new elections

BAMAKO, Mali — Malian voters solid ballots on a brand new draft structure Sunday in a referendum that the nation’s coup chief says will pave the best way towards holding new elections in 2024, however that critics have referred to as a delaying tactic for him to increase his time in energy.

In a message broadcast on state tv on the eve of the vote, Col. Assimi Goita informed Malians that the proposed draft structure “provides for a better-organized executive power, while maintaining the necessary balance with the legislative power.”

However, Imam Mahmoud Dicko, an opponent of the army junta, invited his supporters to a big corridor in Bamako on Friday to ask them to vote towards it.

“In our country today, can we speak of justice, democracy, human rights, the rule of law? What kind of democracy are we talking about? Where is it? What rule of law is there in a country where justice is used by the military to repress people? That’s the reality of this country today,” mentioned Dicko, a one-time junta supporter who led the motion calling for the departure of democratically elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita earlier than he was ousted in 2020.

Malians who voted Sunday mentioned they hoped the structure’s approval could be a step in the suitable path for a rustic mired by Islamic extremist violence for a decade.

“I voted so that this new constitution would bring us peace and stability,” mentioned Moctar Diallo, a retired driver in Kalasoribougou. “We are in a situation where only the new decisions can bring us peace.”

The proposed draft structure creates a two-chamber parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate; till now the nation has solely had a National Assembly. The draft additionally consolidates the place of the President of Mali, a transfer that has drawn a lot political debate.