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<zksmith@email.unc.edu>
I had a number of responses to the last update and I feel that
there is enough interest to justify a follow-up post/update.
On Sunday, April 20, President Alpha Oumar Konare, and his ruling party
ADEMA met with 20 opposition parties and agreed to the annulment of the
first round Legislative election results. This gathering of political
parties was called by Konare at the behest of religious and civic leaders
and was aimed at restoring confidence I the electoral process after the
electoral irregularities of the previous week. In addition to the
annulment of the first round legislative results, the second round
legislative, and presidential elections have reportedly been postponed.
While these developments seem to take some of the wind out of the
political oppositions demands, there are still some who are calling for
the resignation of the Prime Minister and the abolition of the National
Electoral Commission (CENI). (The CENI is composed of representatives of
all political groupings and was charged with the administration of the
elections.) In addition, the postponement of the elections could pose a
constitutional crisis. This is because Konare has already dissolved the
National Assembly in anticipation of the elections, further, Konare's five
year mandate will also expire on June 8th. If the electoral process is
not completed by this time it is likely that legal challenges will be
mounted to prevent Konare from exercising presidential power.
The ability of the opposition to sway ADEMA can be seen in a positive
light as evidence of political pluralism and a measure of democratic
maturity. The heavy handed repression of the opposition marches last week
had caused some to doubt the sincerity of ADEMAs democratic commitment.
On the other hand, ADEMA supporters have argued that the appropriate
response of the opposition should have been recourse to the Constitutional
Court rather than attempts to mobilize popular discontent and risk
violent confrontation.
The involvement of representatives from religious groups and civil society
is an increasingly common feature in the resolution of disputes in Malian
politics. (A similar technique was used last year in resolving ongoing
disputes between the government and Mali's independent student union.)
It should also be noted that in spite of technical problems at the polls,
participation rates in the first (now annulled) round had increased 8-10%
over the very low 1992 rates. It is unclear if this trend will continue
in light of uncertainty about election dates and the poor organization
evidenced in the first round. Many Malians may simply stay home rather
than make a trip to the polls if it is uncertain that they will be allowed
to vote.
Finally, it is interesting that after the success of ADEMA in the first
round provisional results, only two other parties seemed to have pulled
more than single digit percentages. The first, CNID, had percentages in
the mid teens which was expected as they are a well established party.
The second party to have polled about the same as CNID was MPR (Movement
for the Restoration). This party, led by a former youth activist from the
pre-multi-party-military-government era, has as its central tenant the
restoration and rehabilitation of the disgraced and imprisoned former
dictator Moussa Traore. Though surprising to some, the popularity of this
party and its potential for electoral success was noted prior to the
elections by other observers (myself:-)).
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