In a significant escalation of its grip on power, Mali’s ruling military junta has officially disbanded all political parties across the country. The decision, which further entrenches military rule, was confirmed on Tuesday via a statement broadcast on state television. According to the announcement, interim President Assimi Goita formally endorsed the directive.
This move follows recommendations from a national dialogue held last month, during which various political stakeholders proposed the dissolution of political parties and the formal appointment of Goita as president for a transitional five-year term.
The proposal sparked backlash from civil society groups and opposition figures, culminating in protests on May 3 and May 4 in the capital, Bamako. Demonstrators carried signs demanding the restoration of multi-party democracy and expressing their frustration with the government.
They also chanted slogans like “Down with dictatorship, long live democracy.”
In anticipation of further unrest, particularly a protest scheduled for May 9, authorities suspended all political activities nationwide. This preventive measure led to the cancellation of the planned demonstration by opposition coalitions.
The crackdown on political expression has coincided with troubling reports of enforced disappearances. Human rights organizations have raised alarms about the apparent targeting of opposition leaders.
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Abba Alhassane, secretary general of the Convergence for the Development of Mali (CODEM), was arrested by “masked gunmen claiming to be gendarmes” on May 8.
The group also said on the same day, “unidentified men” seized El Bachir Thiam, leader of the Yelema party, in the town of Kati outside Bamako.
Assimi Goita originally took control in August 2020 following a coup amid worsening insecurity from insurgent groups affiliated with both ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda’s West African branch, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). Although the junta initially promised to hold democratic elections by February 2022, that commitment has since been delayed indefinitely.
