Mali's military junta suspends political parties' activities 'until further notice'

Mali's junta on Wednesday suspended political parties' activities "until further notice for reasons of public order", as the opposition protests against the military government's ramped-up crackdown on dissent.

Read out on national television and radio, the decree comes ahead of a rally called for Friday by parties critical of the junta against their dissolution, as well as for a return to constitutional order in the insecurity-ridden Sahel nation.

All "associations of a political character" were covered in the decree signed by junta leader General Assimi Goïta and broadcast on national television.

The latest measure constitutes a new act of repression of dissenting voices along with a shrinking of civic space in the west African country, ruled by the military since two coups, in 2020 and 2021.

On April 30, authorities announced the repeal of a law governing the operation of political parties, a decision which legal experts interpreted as a step towards their dissolution.

Watch moreEye on Africa: Mali plans to dissolve political parties

Fearing that, a coalition of roughly one hundred parties formed to "demand the effective end of the political-military transition no later than December 31, 2025" and call for "the establishment of a timetable for a rapid return to constitutional order".

The new coalition mobilised several hundred people during a demonstration last Saturday in Bamako.

That constituted a rare act of protest since the junta came to power.

In 2024, the authorities had already suspended the activities of political parties for three months.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)