The government of Mali postponed the presidential elections which was scheduled to be held in Februray 2024. The spokesperson Abdoulaye Maiga said that the election is being delayed due to technical reasons .
The 4th and 18th of February 2024 were initially fixed for two election rounds.
The Mali govt announced that the election for president post would be delayed due to some technical reason. Elections were aimed to install a civil govt in Mali.
This transition from military to civil rule is possible only after a peaceful electoral process.
Besides technical reasons, other issues are also to blame—such as the adoption of a new constitution this year and the lengthy process of electoral list revision.
Govt spokespersons also stated that there is a dispute between the military govt of Mali and the French company Idemia. The French company Idemia was hired by govt for completing the census process.
The spokesperson said Mali was committed to holding the presidential election in February. Elections are being delayed now due to reasons beyond the government’s control.
There is huge pressure on the Mali military govt from the economic community of West African states.
in another big devolpment Mali’s commitment to held presidential elections within the stipulated timeframe led to the lifting of sanctions imposed on Mali.
These sanctions were imposed almost two years ago, in the month of January 2022. Reasons behind sanctions, along with others, included that the military govt is planing to remain in power for up to five years .
The Referendum in aimed to introduce the new constitution in Mali was also postponed . The referendum was delayed for several months .
Then, on 18th June of this year, a referendum was held to introduce a new constitution. Opponents parties criticised the military govt .
Their criticism was based on the fear that by adopting a new contituttion , Govt was planning to stay in power for a long time.
On the contrary, govt asserted its commitment to civilian rule. Govt said introducing the new constitution would pave the way to return to civilian government.