Mali parliament grants junta leader renewable five-year term in power

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Mali's military-appointed legislative body on Thursday granted the country's junta leader a five-year term in office, renewable more than once and without election, an AFP journalist said.

The move clears the way for General Assimi Goita to lead the west African country until at least 2030, despite the military government's initial pledge to return to civilian rule in March 2024.

The bill was passed by the National Transitional Council, which is composed of 147 members, and now goes to the junta chief himself for a formal signing.

The cabinet, the Council of Ministers, had already adopted the measure last month.

When Goita rose to power following two coups in 2020 and 2021, he insisted on Mali's commitment to the fight against jihadist violence and initially pledged a return to civilian rule.

But the military ultimately reneged on its promise to cede power to elected civilians by the March 2024 deadline.

"This is a major step forward in the rebuilding of Mali," Malick Diaw, president of the National Transitional Council, told AFP after Thursday's vote.

The ongoing squeeze on Mali's civic space comes against a backdrop of clamour by authorities for the country to unite behind the military.

Since 2012, Mali has been mired in violence carried out by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as other criminal organisations.

Those attacks have only intensified in recent weeks.

Earlier this year, a national assembly called by the junta recommended the move proclaiming Goita president without a vote for the five-year renewable term.

The same assembly also recommended the dissolution of political parties, which the junta government subsequently banned in May.