Mali – Constitution restored

Under pressure from the international community and faced with the growing threat from the rebels in the north of the country, the leaders of the coup in Mali have officially restored the 1992 constitution. The declaration is available in French here.

The declaration does beg the question that if the constitution is restored, then why is the president not back in power? Moreover, there is a caveat. The declaration states: “However, given the multidimensional crisis which the country is going through and in order to allow the right conditions for a transition and the preservation of national cohesion, we have decided, under the auspices of a mediator, to embark upon consultations with the living forces in the country in the context of a national convention with a view to the organisation of peaceful, free, open and democratic election which we will not participate in”. So, not only are the institutions not really restored, there will be a period before elections are held during which time there will be a national convention. It is difficult to imagine such a convention being held in the context where half of the country is under the control of rebels.

Generally, the coup leaders are under pressure. They are under pressure from the international community to restore democracy and they are under pressure from the fact that the rebellion has got much worse since they took power, yet they took power because they claimed that the previous administration had not dealt properly with the rebellion.

There is a little more background on the coup here.

 

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