EDITORIAL: Mali’s Democracy Put on Hold as Junta Extends Its Rule

By: The Editor-in-Chief

Mali’s transitional parliament has handed Gen Assimi Goïta the power to lead the country for another five years, renewable indefinitely, turning what was once a promise of democracy into an open-ended era of military rule. For a country battered by coups, extremist violence and economic hardship, this is a heavy blow to any hope of a civilian-led future.

The vote by the National Transitional Council, wrapped in the language of “popular will,” is hardly surprising. Since taking power in a 2020 coup and consolidating it with a second putsch in 2021, Goïta has proven adept at keeping Mali in perpetual transition. Promises of quick elections have come and gone. Security threats have grown worse, not better.

While the transitional leadership hails this new mandate as a “major step forward,” for many Malians it feels like a step backward into an era where dissent is silenced and politics exist only at the whim of the barracks. Already, political parties have been banned, and civil society groups fear a tightening grip on free speech and assembly.

The paradox is stark. Mali’s junta justifies its extended rule by pointing to jihadist violence that has escalated since the last president was toppled. But that same violence is used to delay democratic reform. Instead of building credible institutions to counter insecurity, the military regime now risks using insecurity as its mandate for endless rule.

In the meantime, Mali’s alliances have shifted dramatically. The break from France and the pivot towards Moscow and fellow juntas in Burkina Faso and Niger may please some in the short term but leaves Mali more isolated from its democratic neighbours. Withdrawal from Ecowas deepens that isolation, weakening regional checks and balances that could hold the junta accountable.

What Malians want is not endless military “protection” but a real chance to choose their leaders and hold them to account. Until then, the promise of democracy will remain what it is today: a hope increasingly out of reach, drifting on the same winds that once carried chants for freedom and reform through Bamako’s streets.

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