Mali’s Supreme Court has released a comprehensive final audit report examining the public financing of political parties from 2000 to 2024.
Published in December 2025 by the court’s Accounts Section, the document reveals that the total volume of state support over this quarter-century is estimated at between 25 and 35 billion CFA francs. This funding is rooted in a legal provision that allocates 0.25% of the state’s annual tax revenue to political organizations, distributed through a specific four-part formula. This mechanism assigns 15% of funds to parties that participated in recent elections and filed accounts, while the remaining portions are distributed based on the number of members of parliament (40%), municipal councilors (35%), and elected women (10%).
The audit highlights a significant concentration of wealth among a few dominant political players. Three major parties—ADEMA-PASJ, RPM, and URD—emerged as the primary beneficiaries, collectively receiving the vast majority of subsidies. ADEMA-PASJ alone secured an estimated 5 to 7 billion CFA francs, followed closely by RPM with 4 to 6 billion and URD with 2 to 3 billion. While other parties like CNID-FYT and CODEM received significant sums ranging into the hundreds of millions, the top ten best-funded parties controlled nearly 80% of all available public resources, leaving more than 130 other organizations to share less than 20% of the total budget.
The report also clarifies that eligibility often depended more on administrative compliance than actual electoral success. For example, the ADCAM party received over 81 million CFA francs between 2008 and 2023 primarily due to its consistent filing of financial statements, despite having a relatively low public profile. However, the Supreme Court noted widespread deficiencies across the board, including delayed financial filings, poorly justified expenses, and incomplete asset inventories. These investigative challenges were intensified in 2025 following the suspension and dissolution of several parties in May, which hampered the ability of auditors to verify physical assets and cooperate with former party structures.
MD/Sf/fss/abj/APA