DAKAR, Senegal
The national phase of a months-long "inter-Malian dialogue" is set to begin in six days' time, with the country's military junta banking on the conclusions to bolster its increasingly contested legitimacy.
Weakened by security and
economic crises and criticised for their failure to transfer power back to
civilians, Mali's authorities have cracked down on mounting dissent, while
still managing to retain support from a section of the population.
The West African nation has
been ruled by juntas since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, with the
military promising to hand back power through the ballot box in February under
pressure from regional bloc ECOWAS.
But the colonels sparked
domestic and international criticism after failing to uphold this commitment
and postponing the election until an unspecified date -- citing a precarious
security situation aggravated by jihadist groups which has not yet been stabilized.
After muzzling opponents,
journalists and human rights activists, the military authorities suspended the
activities of political parties in April and dissolved several civil society
organisations calling for elections to be held.
But in the eyes of some
Malians, the increasingly critical political class "suffers from a
credibility deficit due to corruption and broken promises" under previous
regimes, said Mahamadou Konate, a university professor in the capital Bamako.
He added that this view had
been amplified by communications from the military government.
The junta is also counting on
the inter-Malian dialogue, launched in December, to strengthen its peace
efforts after ending a major 2015 deal with armed separatist groups in the
north.
The talks' first
recommendations, seen by AFP, unsurprisingly call for the extension of the
so-called "transition" period and, in some regions, for junta leader
Colonel Assimi Goita to stand as a candidate in the presidential election.
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