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<zksmith@email.unc.edu>
I want to correct an inaccuracy in the last* Mali election update.
[*see "NEWS: Mali Election Annulment," H-AFRICA 22 Apr 1997--P.L.]
I indicated that ADEMA and the opposition parties had agreed to annul the
first round election results and to reschedule the presidential elections.
While there is an agreement to annul the first round results, there is not
agreement on the scheduling of the presidential elections which are still
programmed for first round voting on May 4. ADEMA's party chair, Alioune
Diallo, announced last night (Wednesday, April 23), after an emergency
meeting of ADEMA party leaders, that "there is no question of postponing
the presidential elections as the goal of the opposition is to create a
constitutional void and plunge the country into political turmoil." It
was further stated that the Presidential elections would go ahead with or
without the opposition.
In spite of agreements reached on Sunday and Monday of this week, the
opposition leaders pulled out of negotiations and boycotted a meeting with
President Alpha Oumar Konare on Tuesday evening. They did so to protest
what they have called the stalling techniques of ADEMA and to further
press their demands for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the
National Electoral Commission.
The Constitutional Court is scheduled to rule on Thursday, April 24
on the legitimacy of the original election results. It is unclear what
this ruling will accomplish considering that ADEMA has already agreed to
annul the results. Final vote tallies from the first round have been
released and show that if the results were to stand that ADEMA will gain
ground in the National Assembly, a body which ADEMA already dominates.
Konare and ADEMA have won praise from many Malians for visible projects
such as road construction, new bridges, public monuments, schools etc.
These projects may account for some of ADEMAs apparent electoral gains.
Other contributions to ADEMAs popularity could include: the final
settlement of grievances with the Tuareg resistance movements in the north
(1996); recent relative calm in relationships with student groups (accords
reached in 1996); and a continuation or expansion of clientalistic
practices which some have noted seem to make ADEMA the new de-facto single
party.
On Monday, April 21 over 3,000 people marched peacefully in Bamako to show
support for the opposition demands. Protest marches also took place in
regional capitals Segu and Sikasso. The Monday protests were peaceful in
contrast to last weeks march in which a number of protesters were injured
by government security forces (See previous postings).
NOTE - These updates are compiled from a variety of on-line sources
including AFP news releases, Malinet list-serve postings, private e-mail
messages, WWW pages of Ivoirian and Malian news papers. All analytical
conjectures are my own.
 Humanities & Social Sciences Online 
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