CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Alexis Kalambry, Mali, January 1999
THEME = POLITICS
Exploring the virtues of dialogue
For the last two years, Mali has been living through a political crisis which paints an extremely negative image of the country and has also caused social problems which never seem to end.
This crisis followed on the March to May 1997 el-ections which consisted in local, parliamentary and presidential elections. The political parties made it clear they had lost all confidence in the current administration. In February 1997, an independent body was established to supervise and organise the elections: this was the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI ).
But trouble was in store, because when the 1997 local elections supervised by CENI took place, the Supreme Court cancelled the results. CENI was maligned and ignored by many opposition parties. The Opposition said they had no intention of taking part in any further elections unless the National Assembly was dissolved and the President resigned. They also called for the setting up of a transition council to run the affairs of state. All of which the Government refused. That's why many of the opposition parties did not take part in the remainder of the elections and refused to recognise both the election results and those elected to Office.
The problem was quickly appreciated. There is no mention in Mali's legislation about how such issues mentioned above, must be dealt with when they arise. It was high time to take a second look at this lacuna. Indeed, it was the President himself who launched the idea when he said: "We are the ones who drew up our country's basic documents. If they no longer respond to our needs, then there's no reason why we can't change them".
So, consultations were held from 9-13 December throughout Mali, in view of revising the Constitution, political parties' charters, rules and regulations governing the official Opposition, the Electoral Code and the Press Law. Once the regional consultations were completed, the official delegates met together in Bamako from 21-29 January 1999, to draw up final conclusions and recommendations. For once, most politicians and the civil society buried the hatchet and took part in the Forum. The final document (200 pages) was called: "A Summary of the National Political Forum".
For example, on the recommendation of President Alpha Oumar Konaré himself, the Constitution will now stipulate that "Nobody can serve more than twice as President". The State will also undertake to find the necessary funding for any political party playing a positive role in civic education for the population. As regards the Press: a journalist can no longer be imprisoned for offending against laws regarding the Press.
In closing the Forum, Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita put it this way: "This has been a good occasion to ensure that Mali is firmly ensconced in the worldwide movement for democracy".
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CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement