The National Political Forum in Mali proposed launching a five-year renewable term in 2025, ensuring military leader Assimi becomes the president of the country.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the recommendation will be changed to establish the temporary legal framework established after the 2021 coup (a temporary legal framework established after the 2025 coup) as president “for a five-year renewable term starting in 2025.”
Alliances in the AES or Sahel include Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all controlled by military governments. Niger made a similar move in March, naming it a renewable five-year term with coup leader Abdullah Hamane Tiani.
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The parties may be disbanded
The forum also called for more stringent rules for disbanding all existing parties and creating new parties. Of the 297 recognized parties in Mali, only 137 participated in the consultation. Many boycotted the event.
Critics fear that the proposal could end Mali’s multi-party system. This was introduced in 1991 after the collapse of General Mussatraore’s military dictatorship.
The change marked the country’s return to civilian rule after more than 20 years of authoritarian rule.
“We understand that this is the will of the military, as this is the same proposal in all regions. It is the dictum,” said Ismael Sacco, the ousted president of the PSDA party and a member of the Sahel Democrat Union.
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Pending elections
The representative also recommended that all election plans be suspended until the country “defeated.” They said current leaders need more time to govern.
The military had originally promised elections in February 2022, but that date was pushed back several times.
Mali has faced violence for more than a decade, and the armed groups are linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic state groups operating in the north and central parts of the country.
Proponents of the proposal say the goal is to wipe out Mali’s political system. The charter party initiative known as the IPAC represents many of Mali’s older parties.
It was not opposed to reform as a rule, and submitted its own ideas in March. IPAC proposed to introduce stricter controls on public funds to reduce the number of parties and prevent misuse.
Gota hasn’t responded yet
General Go-like, at the age of 41, led the coups in 2020 and 2021. He became “President of Transition” in 2021 and was promoted to five-star general in October 2024.
He has not yet said whether to adopt the forum recommendations.
