A Malian transitional government decree on Wednesday mandates the immediate suspension of the activities of all political parties throughout the country until further notice.
According to the official text read on national television, the suspension applies not only to formally established political parties, but also to “all political associations and organisations claiming to be political.”
The authorities say this was necessary to ensure public order.
Growing political tension
This decision comes two days before a new demonstration planned by opposition parties for Friday, May 9, and a few days after incidents at the Amadou Hampate Ba Palace of Culture where opposition elements claimed they were attacked.
According to a joint statement, “thugs and other hoodlums” blocked the main entrance during the night of May
2-3 before forcing their way into the venue. Participants were reportedly assaulted and then expelled on the orders of law enforcement.
The suspension also comes after the recent adoption by the Council of Ministers of a controversial bill aimed at repealing the 2005 Charter of Political Parties and the 2015 Opposition Statute. This text, the result of regional and national consultations in April 2025, already provided for the abolition of existing political parties, the end of
public funding, and the disappearance of the status of opposition leader.
The bill also imposes drastic new conditions for the creation of parties, including a deposit of 100 million CFA francs, which the opposition describes as “qualifying suffrage.”
Presented by the authorities as a measure to rationalise the political space, this move was denounced by the parties as a desire for the “pure and simple dissolution” of pluralism.
The recommendations resulting from the consultations also paved the way for a five-year renewable presidential term for General Assimi Goita, along the lines of junta-ruled neighbours that are members of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES).
Before this suspension, the opposition parties demanded the effective end of the transition by December 31, 2025, a clear timetable for the return to constitutional order, the release of prisoners of conscience, and the unconditional return of political exiles.
They even warned that they would prosecute any official implicated in the “manipulation of the Constitution or the illegal dissolution of parties.”
Former Prime Minister Moussa Mara declared on his social media page that the “struggle has only just begun,” urging the “Malian people” to remain united to put the country “back on track.”
The suspension of political activities represents a major turning point in Malian political life and is already provoking strong reactions among international observers and national political actors.
