The military junta in power in Mali has called a referendum on the country’s new constitution, which affirms, among other things, the principle of state secularism and “attachment to the republican form”. The consultation was originally scheduled for March 19, but was postponed due to unspecified “technical issues”. The secularist project aims to combat the spread of jihadism, which has afflicted Mali since 2012, but has also found opposition from various religious and cultural associations.
The approval of the new Constitution should represent the first step on a path that will lead Mali to February 2024 electionand thus at the end of the transitional military junta government that took power after that two coupsin August 2020 and May 2021.
Cover photo EPA/HADAMA DIAKITE