Mali urged to suspend referendum amid unrest

An influential Malian political group has called for a constitutional referendum to be abandoned until the government can assure the “liberation” of swathes of the country dominated by militants and former rebels.

The vote on Mali’s national charter was due on July 9 but was postponed in the face of internal opposition in government and following protests by thousands of Malians who believe the vote cannot be held democratically given the state of security in the country’s north.

Led by former minister Sy Kadiatou Sow, known as the “Iron Lady” of Malian politics, the “Don’t touch my constitution” group say the referendum should be retracted and a national consultation held to rewrite it.

Excessive powers

The referendum, which would enshrine parts of a 2015 peace deal into the charter, also faced opposition from those who say it would give President Ebrahim Boubacar Keita excessive powers.

“No referendum without the total liberation of [Malian] territory,” Sy Kadiatou Sow said, while a group statement said the government could expect massive protests if it went ahead with a new date for the vote.

“All legal means” would be used to oppose it, she added, including a march to be held on July 1 on the eve of a security summit due to be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.

A peace deal signed in 2015 was aimed at curbing separatist uprisings in Mali’s north after a 2012 rebellion was hijacked by Islamists, throwing the nation into chaos.

But Mali’s Islamists did not sign the peace deal and have continued to wreak havoc despite a French-led military intervention in 2013 which removed them from key northern cities.

Meanwhile former rebels still control the city of Kidal, and the state remains absent in large swaths of Mali’s northern regions.