A national political forum in Mali has proposed making military leader Assimi Goïta the country's president, with a five-year renewable term starting in 2025.
The recommendation would change Mali's transitional charter - the temporary legal framework put in place after the 2021 coup - to install General Goïta as president "for a five-year renewable term from 2025, like his peers in the AES", according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office.
The AES - or Alliance of Sahel States - includes Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all ruled by military governments. Niger made a similar move in March, naming its coup leader Abdourahamane Tiani president with a renewable five-year term.
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Parties could be dissolved
The forum also called for the dissolution of all existing political parties and stricter rules for creating new ones. Of Mali's 297 recognised parties, only 137 took part in the talks. Many boycotted the event.
Critics fear the proposals could end Mali's multi-party system, which was introduced after the fall of General Moussa Traoré's military dictatorship in 1991.
That shift marked the country's return to civilian rule after more than two decades of authoritarian rule.
"It's the same proposal across all regions, so we understand it's the junta's will. It's a diktat," said Ismaël Sacko, the exiled president of the PSDA party and a member of the Sahel Democracy Coalition.
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Elections on hold
Delegates also recommended suspending all election planning until the country is "pacified". They said the current leaders need more time to govern.
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The military had originally promised elections in February 2022, but that date has been pushed back several times.
Mali has faced violence for more than 10 years, with armed groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group active in the north and centre of the country.
Supporters of the proposals say the goal is to clean up Mali's political system. The Initiative of Political Parties for the Charter, known as Ipac, represents many of Mali's older political parties.
It has not opposed reforms in principle and submitted its own ideas in March. Ipac suggested reducing the number of parties and introducing tighter controls on public funding to prevent misuse.
Goïta yet to respond
General Goïta, 41, led coups in 2020 and 2021. He became "President of the Transition" in 2021 and was promoted to five-star general in October 2024.
He has not yet said whether he will adopt the forum's recommendations.
