Malians vote overwhelmingly for new constitution

Malian voters overwhelmingly approved changes to the constitution in a referendum, marking a key step in the ruling junta's declared plans to restore civilian rule, provisional results showed Friday.

The military has made the draft constitution an essential cornerstone for the rebuilding of Mali, which is facing the spread of jihadism and a deep multi-faceted crisis.

Ninety-seven percent of the referendum votes were cast in favor of the changes, the electoral authority said, with voter turnout put at 39.4 percent.

Opponents of the plan view the vote as tailor-made to keep the colonels in power beyond the presidential election scheduled for February 2024, despite their initial commitment to hand over to civilians after the elections.

The new constitution will strengthen the role of the president, a change that has spurred expectations that junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita intends to vie for the job.

The changes will also give pride of place to the armed forces and emphasize "sovereignty", the ruling junta's mantra since it came to power in 2020.

Voting was hampered in many towns in the center and north of the land-locked West African country, either by fear of jihadist attacks or by political disagreements.




AFP