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Mali’s Constitutional Council has confirmed a massive victory for a referendum on a new draft constitution. Almost 97% of the votes counted backed the plans which would set out a timetable of reforms and consultations leading up to the presidential election
Mali’s Constitutional Council has confirmed a massive victory for a referendum on a new draft constitution. Almost 97% of the votes counted backed the plans which would set out a timetable of reforms and consultations leading up to the presidential election.
Announcing the result Amadou Ousmane Touré, President of the Constitutional Court, said that the draft Constitution submitted to the electorate on June 11 and 18, 2023 was adopted by the said electorate. The new constitution would strengthen the powers of the president, give pride of place to the armed forces and emphasise sovereignty. The referendum also marks the country distancing from the fold of its ex-colonizer France and the change of focus towards Russia. The long-awaited announcement dashed the hopes of opposition groups who had demanded the referendum be annulled.
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Critics of the project describe it as tailor-made to keep the junta in power beyond the presidential elections scheduled for February 2024, despite their initial commitment to hand it over to civilians after the elections. The umbrella group- United Front Against the Referendum- had denounced irregularities in the ballot, both in terms of the results and the turnout. This first ballot since the military seized power in August 2020 is seen as an important step towards a return to civilian rule in March 2024.
