Without much surprise, the transitional government announced, this Friday, March 10, 2023, the postponement of the referendum poll initially scheduled for March 19. It was thanks to a lively press conference, last Friday, by the Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Colonel Abdoulaye MAIGA. It was in the conference room of the department in the presence of the Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister, in charge of Political and Institutional Reforms, Mrs. Fatoumata Sékou DICKO.
The constitutional referendum in Mali, initially scheduled for March 19, has been postponed to a later date, announced the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization and government spokesperson, Colonel Abdoulaye MAÏGA.
For Colonel MAÏGA, this postponement is justified by the firm will of the authorities of the Transition to apply the recommendations of the National Assembly for Refoundation (ANR). In particular, the full operationalization of the Independent Election Management Authority (AIGE) through the installation of its branches in the 19 administrative regions of Mali and the District of Bamako.
Colonel Abdoulaye MAÏGA underlined that the date of the referendum will be fixed after consultation with the AIGE and all the actors of the electoral process. However, he expressed the determination of the authorities of the Transition to respect the deadline agreed with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the return to constitutional order.
Apart from the constitutional referendum, the electoral calendar provides for the holding of coupled elections of local authorities (municipal, circle, regional and district councilors) on June 25, 2023, legislative elections on October 29 and November 19, 2023 and the presidential election on June 4, 2023. and February 18, 2024.
“The Transitional Government informs the national opinion that the date of the referendum scheduled for March 19, 2023, in the chronogram of the political, institutional and electoral reforms of the Transition will experience a slight postponement”, declared Colonel Abdoulaye MAÏGA before the men of media.
“The decision of the highest authorities to organize the referendum on the basis of a new Constitution has implications for the timetable of the referendum. The implementation of this timeline has been guided by principles of inclusiveness, participation and transparency,” he added.
The government, through the voice of Minister MAIGA, also reassures national and international opinion that the return to constitutional order, after having carried out the necessary reforms, remains one of its absolute priorities, while respecting the long term of the Transition.
Even if this postponement was not formalized until this Friday, it must be said that it had been hovering for some time. As a warning sign, the convocation of the electoral college supposed to take place 90 days before the start of the ballot, i.e. in December 2022, was not made on the due date.
Indeed, Article 96 specifies: “The voters are summoned and the date of the ballot is fixed by decree taken in the Council of Ministers and published in the Official Journal ninety (90) days at least before the date of the ballot”. .
Logistically, there are still enormous difficulties which make holding this referendum on the date indicated almost impossible. The president of the Constitutional Court, Amadou Ousmane Touré, had thrown a stone into the water a few days ago by declaring it impossible for his structure to organize an election in the coming months for lack of money.
In addition to the AIGE, whose branches must be set up 3 months before the elections, taking into account the new administrative division published last February, the draft new Constitution was only submitted to the President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta on Monday February 27 last. Since then, he has still not enacted it.
Also, the campaign which was to start on March 3, two weeks before the election, has been delayed.
Already, on Tuesday March 07, the Malian League of Imams and Scholars for Islamic Solidarity (LIMAMA) called on its members to vote against the draft new Constitution presented by the transition on Monday February 27. The organization of imams denounced the maintenance of the principle of secularism of the State in relation to the 1992 Constitution.
An aspect that was not disputed by the president of the High Islamic Council, Chérif Ousmane Madani HAIDARA.
This postponement comes at a time when the enrollment process for the biometric card is underway and is experiencing a certain slowness.
By Abdoulaye OUATTARA