Agence France-Presse :
The head of Mali’s military council on Saturday issued the new constitution establishing the Fourth Republic, while criticism emerged from the opposition a day after the Constitutional Court published the final results of the referendum.
The constitution was approved by popular referendum with 96.91% of the vote, according to the final numbers of the Constitutional Court. It was published in the Official Gazette on Saturday by Colonel Asimi Guetta, who has been in power since 2020.
Several petitions before the Constitutional Court were rejected, most notably the petition requesting the annulment of the results of the referendum because it did not take place in all parts of the country.
The “February 20 Appeal for the Salvation of Mali” coalition expressed in a statement on Saturday its “regret for the superficial and non-serious handling of the court’s valid and justified petitions, and its going so far as to ignore the attached evidence.”
The coalition, which includes parties and civil society organizations that have distanced themselves from the authorities, denounced the approval of the referendum results “despite the many abuses and violations of the law and the failure to organize voting in several regions of the country.”
Ismail Sako, head of the Social Democratic Party whose dissolution the ruling military council announced in mid-June, criticized a “conspiracy against democracy” and called on the judiciary to “remediate the situation.”
“It should have applied the law,” Sacco said, noting in particular that the referendum was not held in the strategic region of Kidal, the stronghold of armed groups that fought the central state before signing a fragile peace agreement with it in 2015.
And the Constitutional Court announced that the participation rate in the referendum amounted to 38.23%. It is a low percentage in Mali, but the vote that took place on June 18 was hampered in many central and northern regions, either because of fear of jihadist attacks or because of political differences.
The court confirmed that it canceled the results of some polling stations, without giving further details.
The referendum was marred by incidents and irregularities, according to observers and opponents.
Opponents describe the constitution as being designed specifically to keep Guetta in power after the presidential elections scheduled for February 2024, despite the military’s commitment in the first stage to handing over power to civilians following elections that are supposed to take place in March 2024.
The new constitution strengthens the powers of the president, gives an important place to the armed forces, and stresses the “sovereignty” that the military council has adopted as a slogan since it came to power.