In small steps, Mali is moving towards three types of coupled elections: local elections, regional elections and partial communal elections. But, some voices are already rising to ask the government the postponement.
In Mali, it is on October 5 that the Council of Ministers adopted the decrees convening the electoral college for December 17. A date where partial communal, local and regional elections. The Ménaka and Taoudéni regions, which have just been made operational, are not concerned by these elections, according to the Ministry of Territorial Administration.
The partial communal elections will take place in the 59 communes, according to the ministry, where the vote could not be held in November 2016 due to insecurity. These communes are located in the Center and in the North of the country. Some voices are already rising to demand the postponement of these polls already postponed several times.
In the ranks of the former rebels of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), they are denouncing a «unilateral logic» of the government «to organize the communal and regional elections by convening the electoral college without prior discussions with the signatory parties (of the Agreement, ed.) ». In a statement dated October 28, Ilad Ag Mohamed, spokesman for the CMA, points to the government’s failure to take into account certain political aspects enshrined in the Agreement, namely «the operationalization of the Interim Authorities, the organization of the return of refugees / displaced persons, the revision of the electoral lists, the review of the free administration laws and codes of the Territorial Collectivities and many other related aspects». The CMA has therefore asked for a postponement of these elections while waiting for «the establishment of optimal, appropriate and transparent conditions for the holding of this decisive rendezvous for all the people».
In Mali, the refugee issue remains a thorn in the government’s foot. According to the UNHCR, there were 143,103 refugees and 498,170 internally displaced persons at the end of June 2017. The new territorial collectivities code, promulgated on October 2, was also rejected by the signatory movements (CMA and Platform) of the peace and reconciliation agreement. According to these movements, the text moves away from the agreement. An opinion shared by Moussa Mara, President of Yèlèma party (change). In a forum published a week ago, the former Prime Minister believes that «our authorities would have been well advised to listen to the signatory movements which, in this case, do not seem to be wrong».
«Article 6 of the Agreement is quite explicit and unambiguous in its formulation when it consecrates the elected President of the region as the chief executive and administrative officer of the region. This provision is largely defeated by Law No. 2017-051 which states that the elected President of the Regional Council is only the head of the executive and administration body of the territorial collectivity of the Region. This is different from the letter and spirit of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement», he writes.
Faced with all these obstacles, many believe that uncertainty is hanging over these polls.
Sahelien.com