Briefing Mali: Politics of a Crisis (original) (raw)
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African Affairs, 2013
MALI'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WERE ONLY FIVE weeks away when a mutiny in Kati led to the overthrow of President Amadou Toumani Touré, often called ATT. The country's decline into instability appeared to be rapid, but there had been, over time, a consistent erosion of the country's former standing as one of Africa's model democracies. While support for democracy had grown during the first decade of the Third Republic under the presidency of Alpha Oumar Konaré, it dropped steadily under ATT. 1 In the months leading up to the March 2012 coup, and the forestalled April 2012 presidential elections, discontent in the country increased dramatically. A resurgent Tuareg rebellion, disgruntled military personnel, and growing tension around a constitutional referendum scheduled to take place at the same time as the presidential election all created a challenging political terrain. Mali had earned a reputation as a democratic success story and yet the reality was far different. In the two decades following the 1991 coup d'état and the 1992 adoption of the constitution for the Third Republic, Mali had used multiple building blocks of democracy to piece together a precarious structure that would not survive a political crisis. At the same time, a Tuareg separatist insurgency and militant Islamist uprising escalated. While the breakdown of political order, imposition of Shari'a law in the north, and subsequent French military intervention have gained worldwide attention, the resolution of the crisis requires political solutions to be found in the north and south. Elections are planned for July 2013. Questions remain as to whether or not the entire country will be ready to hold elections, and whether hundreds of thousands of displaced people will be able to participate. Elections that are rushed will not serve to create legitimate government and may even further exacerbate political tensions. The alternative of delaying elections is not much better as the legitimacy of the current government is weak and the influence of the junta leader Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo remains powerful. A National Commission for Dialogue and Reconciliation has been formed to lead the effort at
Challenges ahead and beyond Mali’s Presidential Elections
In spite of compelling calls for postponement, the Malian interim authorities have remained firm on their commitment to hold presidential elections on Sunday 28 July. Pressured by the agendas of its international donors, the Traoré administration has struggled to prepare for a hastily organized poll. Despite the recent deployment of the U.N. Stabilization Mission, looming security threats prevail whilst an estimated 500,000 Malians remain displaced amid difficulties in distributing the biometric ID cards required for voting. As a result of prevalent technical deficiencies, the elections are likely to suffer from low voter turnout. This may undermine the legitimacy of the outcome and potentially propel a new cycle of instability at the heart of a region plagued by weak governance and armed insurgencies.
Elections and Conflict Resolution in Mali
Mali has for decades been considered a success story and a model of democracy in Africa. However, the country that enjoyed relative stability and reached several democratic milestones since 1991 was plunged into a severe political and security crisis in 2012 when Tuareg separatists launched a rebellion in the North that thwarted past democratic achievements and threatened the territorial integrity of Mali. More pressure was brought to bear on the Malian democracy as disgruntled soldiers overthrew the government of President Touré in March 2012 because of his ineffective response to the Tuareg rebellion and inadequate provision of military needs. The military junta under the leadership of Captain Amadou Sanogo suspended constitutionalism and plunged the country into political disarray, while, on the back of the Tuareg rebellion, radical Islamist groups gained significant control in large parts of northern Mali and moved the civil war closer to the capital Bamako. A transitional government with the expressed support of the international community organised elections in 2013 with the hope that they would facilitate the cessation of hostilities and ease the return of sustainable peace in the country that had received significant French and some regional military support in regaining its territorial control. This paper examines the extent to which elections have impacted on the restoration of peace. It argues that the holding of democratic elections alone has not done enough to resolve Mali’s recurrent conflict. A broad political process is necessary to address all the structural and social inequalities that have undermined constitutionality and democratic legitimacy in the country in recent history.
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election. 3 Such as holding regional consultations and political forums with civil society groups and public questioning of the government. For details, see Wing (2002). 4 The opposition refused to recognise Konaré as President due to Prime Minister Keita's less consensual approach and mismanagement of the 1997 election, despite Konaré 's attempts at reconciliation. 5 According to the human development index, Mali was ranked 175 out of 177 countries (UNDP, 2006). 6 The 1997 election was rerun after the Constitutional Court annulled the results.
Elections and the Risk of Instability in Africa: Supporting Legitimate Electoral Processes
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Whereas elections have become commonplace in Africa over the past 20 years, several recent examples have shown that they can also crystallise tensions and cause violence (as happened in Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe), and can fail to legitimise power. In Africa, the stakes are high, with access to resources through electoral victory a major aspect of elections. This explains why elections are often the object of fraught competition. Elections thus constitute a critical moment for fragile political regimes. An understanding of the issue of power and the associated resource sharing is fundamental to limiting the risk of elections triggering instability. This issue requires political dialogue at all levels that should be extended to civil society actors. Elections should not be seen only as a technical exercise; it is also vital to understand their power dynamics and the stakes at play. In addition to making sure that all the actors taking part in elections have ownership of the el...
"A Festival of Brigands": In search of democracy and political legitimacy in Mali
Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 2013
Mali's coup d'état in March 2012 and the subsequent occupation of northern Mali by Islamist and separatist rebels took many observers by surprise. How could an erstwhile model of peaceful democratic transition collapse so swiftly? Why did so few ordinary Malians stand up in defence of their 20-year-old democracy? Combining accounts from Malian and foreign journalists with observations made in Bamako leading up to and during the dramatic events of early 2012, this article assesses the failures of Mali's pre-coup political system. A combination of the tenuous rule of law, weak state institutions, and perceptions of systemic corruption deeply eroded Malians' faith in their democracy. The junta that ousted Mali's elected president in March 2012, despite its international isolation, skillfully manipulated public frustrations with the government as well as local symbols and discourses pertaining to heroic leaders to gain support and legitimacy at home. The crisis in Mali was preceded by certain warning signs, some of which might be applied to gauge the health of democratic transitions elsewhere in Africa.