Mali’s military leaders officially disband political parties

Mali’s military government said on Tuesday that it had dissolved all political groups. This was in line with a suggestion made public last month that caused protests in Bamako, the country’s capital, that had never happened before.

A report shown on state TV said that the move had been approved by Assimi Goita, the military leader who took over the West African country after two coups in 2020 and 2021.

A national meeting of Mali’s political leaders last month suggested that Goita be named president for five years and that the parties be dissolved.

During protests in Bamako on May 3 and 4, several hundred people spoke out against the government and held signs that said things like “Down with dictatorship, long live democracy.” At first, the junta said that polls would happen in February 2022.

Mali stopped all political activities across the country on May 9, just before another planned protest. This meant that the opposition groups had to cancel their meeting.

Meanwhile, party leaders and human rights activists say they think three opposition politicians have been abducted in the past few days. This has led to fears of more repression.

At the end of last week, Human Rights Watch said that on May 8, “masked gunmen claiming to be gendarmes” arrested Abba Alhassane, who was the secretary general of the Convergence for the Development of Mali (CODEM). The group also said that on the same day, “unknown men” took El Bachir Thiam, who is the leader of the Yelema party, in the town of Kati, which is outside of Bamako.

A CODEM member who did not want to be named for safety reasons told Reuters on Tuesday that the party had not heard from Abdoul Karim Traore, a youth leader for the party, in two days and thought he had also been taken.

Tuesday, someone asked Mali’s security ministry for a word, but they didn’t answer right away.