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Rabat – Malian democracy is under threat of autocratization, after Assimi Goita banned political parties and abducted opposition leaders.
Consolidation of Power
Political parties and organizations were banned under the military governance of General Assimi Goita on 13 May. This period marks a descent into dictatorship, putting Mali’s established democracy under threat.
Mali is a nation struggling with a number of problems, including an economic crisis, a strong presence of armed militias throughout the country, and terrorist attacks on civilians.
Al Qaida-affiliate terrorist groups have been killing civilians and destroying villages in rebel-held regions outside the capital, Bamako.
The military leader, General Assimi Goita, originally came to power after two back-to-back coups d’etat in 2020 and 2021. Originally, his presidency received widespread support throughout the country. This was due to his perceived ability to bring stability and promise to reinstate elections.
Since 2021, Goita has taken a number of steps to strengthen his power in the country. This has included removing the civilian leadership in 2022 and suspending the promised elections without providing an alternative timeline. He has also replaced United Nations peacekeepers with Wagner, withdrawn from ECOWAS, and joined the new Alliance of Sahel States.
Crackdown on Opposition
The recent period of autocratization began on April 10, 2024, when the National Transition Council voted to extend Goita’s presidency until 2030, effectively granting him a five-year extension. The council also voted to suspend all political activities until further notice.
Opposition groups and protestors took to the streets of Bamako on May 3-4, after the meeting that installed Goita for another five years and banned political activities. The protestors carried placards stating, “down with dictatorship, long live democracy”.
The government responded to the protests with the decision to ban political parties and organizations. The announcement was made by Mamani Nassire, minister of political reform, on State Television, after a meeting of the National Transition Council voted in favor of the dissolution.
This decision has triggered fears that the nation’s era of democracy is over, and the country has returned to the period of dictatorship under President Moussa Traore, which came to an end after democracy was established after a coup in 1991. Under the new directive, all political parties and organizations are to be closed and blocked from operating under threat of legal repercussions.
After the announcement that political parties were suspended, there have been fears that opposition leaders have been abducted. Human Rights Watch has stated that it believes Abba Alhassane, opposition leader of the CODEM Party, was abducted by “masked gunmen claiming to be gendarmes.” Another opposition leader who was reportedly seized is El Bachir Thiam, leader of the Yelema Party. Both figures are considered forcibly disappeared.
Many opponents of the Goita regime state that these actions and abductions are a threat to the future of Malian democracy, and that the state has begun to resemble the Traore dictatorship from thirty-five years ago.
