The referendum vote to validate Mali’s draft new Constitution took place as scheduled on Sunday June 18.
As was the case for the military’s early vote on Sunday June 11, the Kidal region and many other towns under the control of armed groups did not take part in the constitutional referendum held on Sunday June 18. The armed groups are opposed to the draft new constitution, arguing that it does not take into account certain provisions of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, which emerged from the Algiers process. This document, signed in 2015, has made little progress towards implementation. This situation has also encouraged
the spread of armed violence in many parts of the country.
The most striking feature of this referendum election was the low turnout. Voters did not turn out in numbers. The polling stations that opened at 8 a.m. recorded a very low turnout.
According to the Mission d’Observation des Elections au Mali (MODELE Mali), which deployed 3,075 observers throughout the country, the turnout after all polling stations had closed, was just 27 percent. This is likely to deal a major blow to the legitimacy of the ballot, which failed to mobilize voters.
This low turnout can be partly explained by the lack of security in several regions of the country, with the exception of Kidal, where voting did not take place. Several security incidents were reported. In addition to attacks on polling stations, electoral agents were also assaulted and sometimes kidnapped in several parts of the country, notably in the center and north. In addition, people were threatened with attack if they took part in the vote. Insecurity has also forced several polling stations to be relocated to other areas. There were also cases where counting operations were transferred elsewhere.
Logistical difficulties were also encountered, as some people were unable to find their names in polling stations, while others were transferred to distant regions. Not to mention the availability of electoral materials that posed problems in some places. This situation was partly due to the limited time available to prepare for this
election, which was intended to be a full-scale test for the presidential elections scheduled for 2024 to mark the end of the transition. Added to this situation were the thousands of people displaced by insecurity and who had to take part in the election.
Some 8,400,000 citizens were called to this election, the aim of which was to pass Mali’s draft new Constitution. They had to choose between the color white representing the Yes side and red for the No side.
Since Mali entered the multiparty system in 1992, this is the first time that the February 25, 1992 Constitution has been touched. Prior to the August 2020 putsch, various regimes tried unsuccessfully to amend this constitution. The most recent attempt was in 2017 under the late President IBK, who was overthrown in August 2020. According to Colonel Assimi Goita, President of the Transition, “this referendum paves the way for a new, strong, efficient and emerging Mali, but above all a Mali at the service of the well-being of its people.”
MD/ac/fss/abj/APA