Mali Postpones elections due to 'technical reasons'

The military junta in Mali led by General Assimi Goïta has postponed the presidential elections that had been scheduled for February,2023 to a later date which will be announced at a later date.

A government spokesman, Col Abdoulaye Maiga, said the new date for the elections will be announced and  informed that parliamentary polls would be held separately from the presidential elections.

Col Abdoulaye Maiga explained that the delay was due to "technical reasons" which includes issues linked to the adoption of a new constitution and a review of the existing electoral laws.

Civil society groups and the opposition party have expressed their disappointment following this announcement. The elections were intended to return Mali to constitutional rule after military coups in 2020 and 2021.

The Malian Army led by Vice President Assimi Goïta staged a coup d'état in May 2021 and captured President Bah N'daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence Souleymane Doucouré.

The head of the junta, Mr. Assimi Goïta had led an earlier coup 2020 d'état which failed and announced that N'daw and Ouane were stripped of their powers for new elections to be held in 2022. It is the country's third coup d'état in ten years, following the 2012 and 2020 military takeovers, with the latter having happened only nine months earlier.

The junta had initially proposed the elections to be held in 2026, then revised it to 2025 and finally moving it to February 2024 after pressure from stakeholders and the West African bloc of the ECOWAS.

SOURCE: BBC AFRICA