Published on 03.17.2023 at 6:53 p.m. by Interview by Mohamed Kenouvi
With the postponement of the referendum, should we fear a shift in the rest of the timetable?
The government has given a timetable for all the elections. But little by little, it appears that the said timetable is encountering enormous difficulties linked to the delay in the operationalization of the Independent Authority for the Management of Elections (AIGE) and the finalization of the draft constitution. This delay is explained, in part, by a concern to find a broad consensus around the political process. Trying to give ourselves some time for the final adjustments, it will not have a substantial impact on the rest of the calendar. Especially since it is the same organization, once operational, which will take care of the rest of the polls.
The government spokesperson assured that the president of the transition wanted to respect the 2024 deadline. In your opinion, is this deadline still tenable?
The timetable seems difficult to maintain for two major reasons. First, the slowness in the operationalization of the AIGE whose dismemberments have still not been installed when we are already in mid-March.
The new law on territorial organization has not yet been promulgated, but the AIGE must be deployed on the basis of this new territorial configuration, which creates new administrative districts. Given the scale and importance of the work, this work prior to the organization of any election in Mali will take even longer. And that would have a significant impact on the timeline. The second major challenge is related to the funding problem. Does Mali have the necessary budget to finance all these elections? Especially since the country is on a new dynamic characterized by a change of geopolitical alliance. However, it is the “traditional” partners who finance or support our countries considerably in the organization of elections.
Would it be necessary to rearrange the schedule to stay within the time limit?
The reorganization of the chronogram is likely to be badly perceived by the various national and international actors. In addition, it is not obvious that they adhere to it. But the reality also suggests that it will be difficult to meet the initial deadline for the reasons mentioned above.
From this point of view, the authorities are caught between a rock and a hard place: if they revise the timetable, this could further accentuate the divisions. For the moment, we cannot ascribe a bad intention to them. It is best to wait and observe before drawing any conclusions.
