The president of Mali, General Assimi Goita, recently signed a new law essentially granting himself the power to rule over Mali for as long as he pleases. The law signed by President Goita grants him the presidency till at least 2030, with the ability to extend his rule “as many times as necessary,” without the need for any kind of democratic elections. This comes a few months after all political parties in Mali had been dissolved by Goita’s government, effectively making Mali a one-party state.
This is despite the fact that the military junta had previously pledged to return Mali to civilian rule, after the 2021 coup d’etat that saw Goita first come to power. Scheduled elections have been postponed on four different occasions now in Mali. The first elections had been scheduled for February 2022, then they were postponed to July 2022. Then again, to February 2023. Again, the elections would be postponed to September 2023. Finally, it would be announced that Goita’s rule of Mali would be extended up until at least 2030.
We have seen similar actions being taken in the other Alliance of Sahel States (AES) nations as well. In Burkina Faso, elections scheduled for July 2024 have been postponed by five years, to July 2029. The military junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has struggled in its fight against jihadist groups operating in Burkina Faso and cited the worsening security situation for their extension of their deadline for a return to civilian rule. Likewise, in Niger, the military junta, led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, postponed elections till at least 2030.
There has been a drastic scaling back of civil liberties within the AES nations. We have seen crackdowns on journalists, opposition leaders and dissidents in these military run regimes. In Mali and Niger, all opposition political parties have been dissolved by the junta government. Likewise, in Burkina Faso, there has been a ban on the political activities of opposition parties. These nations have essentially been transformed into full-on military dictatorships over the course of the last few years.
It is not as if these Sahel states had previously been bastions of democratic principles before; insecurity, endemic corruption, and accusations of electoral fraud in elections have been very common occurrences in many of the Sahel states. But even by those standards, the slide towards authoritarianism has still been significant. The ramifications of which will be felt all across West Africa, not just within the Alliance of Sahel States.
Currently, all three nations are locked in what could be described as truly existential battles against jihadist groups operating within their borders. Large swathes of territory within their nations are currently under the control of armed groups. The groups use these areas as a base from which to conduct attacks all over West Africa, not just in the Sahel region. These military regimes have so far shown that they have been unable to effectively fight back against the jihadist threats in their nations.
All across the region, high levels of insecurity have affected all of our countries in one way or another. The threat of these terrorist organisations gaining more and more territory in the region and becoming more entrenched is something that should deeply worry all of us. Already, we have seen thousands of deaths and millions of people being displaced from their homes and communities as a result of the war against militants. The floundering we have seen by the AES regimes so far in their fight against militants will only exacerbate this crisis.
The reality is that the likelihood of either of these leaders ever willingly abdicating their positions of power is very unlikely. As we have already seen on previous occasions, the deadlines they are often not willing to even follow the deadlines they have set for themselves. The military juntas have shown that they intend to hold onto power for as long as they have the ability to. The bleak reality is that it looks like, at least for now, that the era of military dictatorship within the Sahel is here to stay.
Sahelian nations have already suffered from corruption and general economic mismanagement for so many years following their independence from France, and the trend looks like it is set to continue. Military regimes are notorious for their brutality and massive levels of corruption. One potent example from the region was Nigeria under the dictatorial rule of Sani Abacha, which saw high levels of repression across Nigerian society and large-scale corruption that robbed Nigeria of billions.
Too frequently, it has been the case that African leaders only look to enhance their grip on power to exploit their nations. And despite whatever social media propagandists would have you believe, these military regimes are no different from the other African leaders that have come before them.
