Mali Awaits Results Of Constitutional Referendum

Votes are being counted in Mali from a referendum on changing the constitution that the military rulers and regional powers have said will pave the way to elections and a return to civilian rule.

Malians have voted on Sunday on whether to back a new constitution in a first electoral test for the ruling junta.

The west African nation has been under military rule since an August 2020 coup but military leader Colonel Assimi Goita, 40, has vowed to return the country to civilian rule in 2024.

Mali has a population of around 21 million with some 8.4 million citizens eligible to vote in the referendum on the new constitution text. The referendum has fueled speculation that Goita might seek election.

But turnout was generally low and insecurity has prevented voting in some areas in the central and northern regions including the town of Kidal, a stronghold of former rebels.

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In Menaka, a region in the north, voting was limited to its capital due to insecurity, local elected officials said.

Despite the concerns, no major incident was reported. The voting was generally peaceful, Mohammed, a resident of the capital Bamako told TRT Afrika.

People started coming out ”slowly” in the morning to cast their votes and later polls closed at 6pm local time, Mohammed says.

”The turnout was very low. There is an apathy due to certain problems,” he adds.

The interim leader of Mali Assimi Goita was among the first to cast their ballots, while voters flocked to polling stations in the capital, Bamako, an AFP news agency journalist saw.

“Today is a historic day.

This vote will change many things… That’s why I voted,” said civil servant Boulan Barro who supports the constitutional reforms because it will provide a ”new Mali.”