Mali: Authorities must abandon alarming proposal to dissolve political parties

Reacting to the proposal to dissolve all political parties in Mali following consultations on the review of the Political Parties Charter, Ousmane Diallo, Sahel Researcher at Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa, said:

“We are alarmed by the proposition to dissolve political parties in Mali and warn against what would be a flagrant attack on the rights to freedom of expression and association. The authorities must end the escalating crackdown on civic space and uphold the human rights of everyone in the country including critics, human rights defenders and opposition politicians.  

“The dissolution of political parties would be at odds with the constitution enacted in 2023 by the transitional authorities, which guarantees the existence of political parties and asserts their right to ‘form and operate freely under the conditions determined by law’.

“It would also be inconsistent and incompatible with Mali’s international human rights obligations including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which it is a state party.”

Background

Military authorities governing Mali have intensified the crackdown on political parties since 2024.

Between 10 April and 10 July 2024, the authorities suspended “political parties’ activities and associations’ activities of political nature” through a decree and prohibited any media coverage of political activities within the country. Several political parties had called on the authorities to respect the Transition Charter and organize elections leading to a return to constitutional order.

The national dialogue organized in May 2024 by the authorities and boycotted by most of the political parties had recommended extending the transition until the “stabilization of the country”. The recommendations also included tougher conditions for the creation of political parties and the elimination of their public funding.

In June 2024, 11 political party leaders were arrested and charged with “plotting against state authority” and “opposing legitimate authority.” They were provisionally released in December 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.