National conference in Mali charged with recommending a timetable for democratic elections following a military coup said on Thursday that polls scheduled for February should be delayed by between six months and five years because of security issues.
After successive coups in August 2020 and May 2021, Mali’s ruling military had pledged, under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and part of the international community, to hand over power to civilians after presidential and legislative elections initially scheduled for February 2022.
But the junta, led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, had finally informed ECOWAS that it was unable to respect the agreed timetable and had asked the Assises Nationales to draw up an electoral calendar.
In mid-December, ECOWAS reiterated its demand for elections on February 27 to return power to civilians and threatened the junta with new sanctions if the timetable was not met.
But Mali has made little progress, blaming disorganisation and a rash of Islamist violence in the north and centre.
The government has said it will take the recommendations of the National Refoundation Conference and decide on a new election calendar by the end of January.
In a document read at the end of the conference in the presence of Colonel Goita, “the participants were in favour of extending the transition period in order to carry out the institutional reforms that will allow for credible, fair and transparent elections. The deadlines put forward vary from six months to five years,”
The conference participants also recommended “developing new military partnerships with military powers” and “disbanding all militias and integrating them into the Malian army,” the final report said.
A prolonged transition back to democracy could isolate Mali from its neighbours and from former colonial power France that has thousands of soldiers deployed there against insurgents linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
It could also undermine democracy in West and Central Africa where military coup leaders in Chad and Guinea are also under pressure to organise elections and give up power.
The proposed election timetable comes at a delicate time politically. France is reducing its military presence in the north while Russia has sent private military contractors to train Malian troops, a move Western powers worry about is the beginning of wider Russian deployment.