Mali’s ruling junta announced on Wednesday, July 11, 2024, that it was reauthorizing the activities of political parties and political associations, which had been suspended in April.
“The government decided to lift the suspension that barred political parties and the activities of political associations,” stated the council of ministers, which is dominated by the military leaders who took power in a 2020 coup.
Colonel Assimi Goita, head of the military government, had justified the suspension by citing the political parties’ “sterile discussions” and “subversion,” which he claimed posed a danger to an ongoing national “dialogue” on the political future of Mali.
At the time, the parties were protesting the colonels’ decision to remain in power beyond a March 2024 deadline for returning to civilian rule.
The main parties and what remains of the opposition boycotted the “dialogue,” which proceeded with regime supporters who, in May, issued “recommendations” that the military remain in power “for two to five additional years” and that the current head of the junta be allowed to run in any future presidential elections.
(AFP)
