Defying democratic norms, a state-backed political conference in Mali has proposed enshrining junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita, who rose to power through successive coups as the country’s official president.
The recommendation emerged Tuesday from a controversial national dialogue in the capital, Bamako, where delegates also proposed sweeping changes to the country’s democratic structure, including scrapping political parties and eliminating the office of opposition leader altogether.
“The dissolution of political parties and the abolition of the status of opposition leader” were among the core recommendations, according to Abdou Salam Diepkilé, director general of territorial administration and general reporter of the talks. Delegates proposed installing Goita as president for a renewable five-year term.
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Whispers of political party dissolution had swirled since the opening of the conference on Monday. The gathering drew over 400 regional delegates, as well as participants from the Bamako district and the Malian diaspora. Absent, however, were the nation’s political parties—many of which have condemned the talks as a rubber stamp for authoritarianism.
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“These consultations are not representative of the Malian people because we ourselves, who represent the political parties, did not participate in this meeting,” said Abdoulaye Yaro, chief of staff to former Prime Minister Moussa Mara’s Yelema party, in a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“The implementation of these recommendations is a disaster for Mali, and above all the installation as president of the republic of someone who was not elected is a violation of the Malian constitution,” he added.
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Mali, a landlocked country in the volatile Sahel region, has been wracked by political turmoil and extremist violence for over a decade. The 2020 and 2021 military takeovers have further destabilized a nation already grappling with insurgencies from groups linked to al-Qaida and ISIS.
Despite pledging a return to civilian rule by March 2024, the junta suspended political activity in April and has since failed to set a new election date or appoint a civilian prime minister.
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