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| AFP |
Mali's military junta, led by General Assimi Goita, has officially dissolved all political parties in the country, a move announced on Tuesday via state television and validated by Goita himself. The decree not only disbands the parties but also prohibits their members from holding any meetings nationwide.
This drastic action follows a national conference held last month, which recommended dissolving all political parties and appointing Goita as president with a five-year mandate. The announcement sparked widespread protests in the capital, Bamako, on May 3 and 4, where hundreds of demonstrators called for multi-party elections and chanted slogans such as "Down with dictatorship, long live democracy".
In anticipation of further protests planned for May 9, the military government suspended all political activities across Mali, forcing opposition groups to cancel their demonstrations.
The crackdown coincides with alarming reports from human rights organizations about the disappearance and arrest of opposition figures. Notably, Abba Alhassane, secretary general of the Convergence for the Development of Mali (CODEM), was reportedly detained by masked men claiming to be gendarmes on May 8, and El Bachir Thiam, leader of the Yelema party, was seized by unidentified individuals in Kati, near Bamako.
General Goita first came to power through coups in 2020 amid escalating violence from armed Islamist groups. Despite initial promises to hold elections by February 2022, the military has repeatedly postponed them, with no new timeline provided.
The dissolution of political parties marks a significant setback for Mali's fragile democratic transition, intensifying fears of authoritarian consolidation under military rule and raising concerns among international observers and human rights advocates.