By Ollus Ndomu
Mali’s military ruler, General Assimi Goita, has granted himself a renewable five-year presidential mandate with no election in sight, deepening fears that West Africa’s fragile democracy will remain firmly under military rule until at least 2030.
A new law, quietly signed by Goita on Tuesday and leaked to the public this week, allows him to stay on as head of state for five years, and to renew that term “as many times as necessary” until the country is “pacified.” Mali’s cabinet approved the measure last month, and the transitional parliament passed it last week with no dissent.
The move marks yet another setback for Mali’s promised democratic transition. Goita, who first seized power in a 2020 coup and staged a second in 2021, had pledged to hold civilian elections in March 2024. Instead, he has tightened the military’s grip on a nation already battered by jihadist violence and political instability.
Rights groups and opposition voices warn the measure signals more repression ahead. “This is about cementing power, not pacifying the country,” said a Bamako-based political analyst. “Under this mandate, dissent risks being buried under the pretext of national security.”
Goita’s government has already banned political parties and cracked down on protests, citing the need for stability. Yet insecurity has only grown worse. Armed groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda continue to launch deadly attacks on soldiers and civilians alike. Last week, multiple army posts came under coordinated assault in the third major offensive this month.
Mali’s military rulers have also pivoted away from former colonial power France and the West, instead forging closer ties with Russia and aligning with neighboring juntas in Burkina Faso and Niger. Together, the three regimes have withdrawn from the regional bloc Ecowas, rejecting demands for a swift return to civilian rule.
Under the new law, Goita will keep his position indefinitely unless he himself decides otherwise. “As long as they can say the country is not pacified, they can keep renewing it,” said a local civil society leader. “It is a blank cheque for perpetual military rule.”
The question now is how much further Mali’s fragile democracy will slip, and whether ordinary Malians will find the voice or space to demand it back.
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