In Mali, transition leader receives latest draft of new constitution

The head of Mali's ruling junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, received a draft of a new constitution on [27 February], amending a draft that was contested last fall, his office said, without saying when it would be put to a referendum. [...] Its adoption would be an important step in the timetable leading to elections in February 2024 and a return to civilian rule. The content of this new draft presented as "final" by the Malian presidency had not been made public early [on the evening of 27 February]. In the timetable drawn up by the junta, this Constitution was supposed to be submitted to a referendum on March 19. But with less than three weeks to go, there is growing doubt that this deadline will be met, and the Malian presidency's statement is silent on the subject. [...] The draft that was handed to [Colonel Goïta] on [27 February] amends a draft that was disclosed in October 2022. The content of that draft and the very relevance of a new constitution has been questioned by a number of political parties and actors who have struggled to make their voices heard, however, in a context where any organized protest has been reduced to almost impotence. Parts of the draft "have been deleted, some merged and others reformulated," said the coordinator of the commission that finalized the draft, Fousseyni Samaké, in the presidential statement. [...] The draft has 191 articles instead of 195, he said.
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