In Mali, will the constitutional referendum take place on March 19, as planned? The transitional authorities have made no announcement, neither on a postponement which nevertheless seems inevitable, nor on maintaining the scheduled date at all costs.
The technical and legal conditions for the organization of the referendum in two weeks are not met. For it to take place on March 19, the electoral college should have been convened on February 17. He never was.
Ms. Bouaré Bintou Founé Samake, who was Minister for the Promotion of Women at the start of the transition, now chairs the Coalition for Citizen Observation of the Elections in Mali (Cocem). She explains : ” This non-convocation makes the holding of the referendum impossible. It is a legal provision of the electoral law. »
However, the Malian transitional authorities have made no statement. Neither to formalize the postponement of the ballot, nor to announce its maintenance despite everything.
During this period of vagueness, Cocem asks the transitional authorities to put an end to it. And proposes a new calendar. ” The referendum can be held on June 25. In the meantime, this would make it possible to put in place all the coordination of the independent electoral management authority. It will also help to prepare the electorate for the referendum, that is to say popularize the construction project and also to go in depth in the preparation and distribution of voter cards. »
The postponement proposed by the coalition of election observers would not mechanically shift all the scheduled elections. Cocem thus estimates that the presidential election to mark the end of the transition period could be held in February 2024, as planned.
Many political movements and Malian civil society continue to demand the pure and simple abandonment of this draft new Constitution. They believe in particular that only elected authorities, and not the result of a military coup, would have the legitimacy to bring about a change in the Constitution.