Mali’s junta leader, General Assimi Goïta, has signed a sweeping new law that could keep him in power well beyond 2030 marking a dramatic break from earlier promises to restore civilian rule.
The controversial legislation, passed last week by 131 out of 147 members of Mali’s transitional parliament, allows Goïta to serve as transitional president for five years with the term renewable “as many times as necessary.”
The law, now in effect, indefinitely delays the long-promised return to democratic governance.
Goïta, 41, first seized power in an August 2020 coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
Less than a year later, in May 2021, he staged a second coup to remove the interim civilian government.
After both takeovers, Goïta pledged to hold elections, first in 2022, then by March 2024. Those timelines are now effectively scrapped.
The new bill also permits current transitional officials including ministers and parliament members to contest future elections, raising fears of a permanent military grip on power.
Supporters, including National Transitional Council president Malick Diaw, defend the legislation as reflecting public will.
“This is a major step in Mali’s rebuilding process,” Diaw said, calling it a necessary tool for national stability.
But critics are warning of creeping authoritarianism. Political parties were banned in May 2025, and several opposition figures have been silenced or detained.
Observers say Mali is sliding into dictatorship under the guise of security and reform.
Meanwhile, insecurity is surging across the country.
On Tuesday, jihadist groups aligned with al-Qaeda and ISIS launched coordinated attacks on military bases in at least three towns. It was the third major offensive in just one month.
Goïta has also realigned Mali’s foreign policy. He ended long-standing defense ties with France and moved closer to Russia’s Wagner-linked military presence.
In January, Mali officially exited ECOWAS, joining Burkina Faso and Niger in a new military-led regional bloc opposing foreign influence.
With elections now indefinitely postponed and power consolidated, many fear Mali is drifting further from democracy and deeper into regional isolation.