In Mali, it has been almost a month since the transitional authorities announced the postponement of the constitutional referendum, initially scheduled for March 19. Since then, preparations for the holding of this poll and the other elections leading to the end of the transition period have advanced. But no new date has yet been given by the transitional authorities.
The installation in the communes, circles and regions of Mali of the new Independent Election Management Authority (Aige) was the main reason given by the transitional authorities to justify the postponement of the constitutional referendum.
Since then, the appointment of the members of these Aige coordinations has progressed: at the request of the Ministry of Territorial Administration, political parties and civil society organizations have begun to appoint their representatives, who will sit alongside those of the ‘State.
Asked by RFI on the progress of this process, the national management of Aige did not follow up.
Popularization of the draft Constitution
However, the transitional authorities have not yet given any indication of the new electoral calendar supposed to be set. after consultation with the independent electoral management authority and all stakeholders in the electoral process “, according to the government statement of March 10 on the postponement of the referendum.
Last week, a committee in charge of popularizing the draft Constitution was created in order to communicate on the text before the organization of the referendum, without any duration being specified. According to the creation decree dated March 28, the mandate of this committee “ ends when the activity report is submitted to the Prime Minister “.
The municipal and territorial scheduled for next June will not be able to be held on the scheduled date either. The electoral college not having been convened in time – the deadline was set for March 22. No official announcement has been made on this yet.
Fears of a schedule slippage
The transitional authorities assured, on March 10, that the deadline of February 2024 for the future presidential election, which should mark the return to constitutional order, remained a ” top priority “. This is not enough to dispel the fears of many political actors and Malian civil society about a possible shift in the timetable and therefore an extension of the Transition.
The prospect of such a shift is one of the reasons why many political parties and civil society organizations are asking the transitional authorities to abandon the project to change the Constitution, and also to abandon part of the elections envisaged for focus on the most important deadline for them: the presidential election.