In a first electoral test for the reigning junta, Malians went to the polls on Sunday to decide whether to support a new constitution. However, several districts were barred from voting due to political unrest and worries of insurgent threats.
The West African nation has been governed by the military since a coup in August 2020, but Colonel Assimi Goita, a 40-year-old strongman leader, has sworn to restore civilian authority in 2024.
There are 8.4 million eligible voters in the referendum on the new text, which has fueled rumors that Goita will run for office.
“Today is a historic day. This vote will change many things… That’s why I voted ‘yes’, for a new Mali,” said civil servant Boulan Barro.
Some areas of the country, like the town of Kidal, a stronghold of former rebels, are not holding the vote because of the threat of terrorist assaults, including the center and northern regions. No significant incident was reported despite worries.
There were only a few voting-related difficulties in the polling places where a team of observers from civil society organisations supported by the European Union were stationed.
Voting was restricted to the region’s capital in Menaka because of security concerns, according to local elected authorities. Menaka is a northern region battling insurgents affiliated with the Islamic State group.
The junta’s ability to restore order and inspire public support for its goals will be judged by the turnout, which is normally low in the 21 million-person nation.
The new constitution has been promoted by the junta as the solution to Mali’s incapacity to deal with its numerous challenges.
Mali’s current problems started in 2012 when separatist insurgents in the north, who had previously been marginalised by the southern government, teamed up with terrorists with ties to Al-Qaeda to seize significant tracts of land.
Attacks have continued despite France’s intervention, and Bamako has subsequently dissolved its ties with Paris in favor of Russia. France, a former colonial power, intervened and assisted in driving back the Islamists.
Disputed parliamentary elections in March 2020, followed by mass protests against a government unable to rein in the insurgency, corruption and economic crisis, ended in a coup.
After appointing an interim leader, Goita removed him in a second coup in 2021 and took over as president.
Now, questions are being raised about his promise to leave office following the elections scheduled for next year.
The country’s UN peacekeeping force, a key and contentious player in a security crisis that has claimed the lives of nearly 200 peacekeepers in the last ten years, was called to leave the country immediately by the junta on Friday.
The president’s authority to choose and dismiss the prime minister and members of the cabinet would be strengthened by the new constitution.