BAMAKO / ISTANBUL 

The Malian government has adopted a bill revising the Transition Charter, allowing President Gen. Assimi Goita, to serve a renewable five-year term beginning in 2025, "in line with his peers in the AES Confederation."

The bill was approved by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, following recommendations from a national conference held in December 2021, which called for "priority in political and institutional reforms before organizing elections," according to an official statement.

The recommendations' implementation resulted in the adoption of a new constitution by the June 2023 referendum, it said, adding: "Since the rectification of the transition and the struggle for full sovereignty, demanded by the people, Mali has been facing challenges, some of which are backed by foreign sponsors."

The statement said that, in addition to national efforts, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—countries facing "the same difficulties"—established the Confederation of Sahel States on July 6, 2024, following the adoption of the Liptako-Gourma Charter, which created the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) on September 16, 2023.

“Despite the adoption of a new Constitution, the control of the entire territory by the Armed and Security Forces, and the progress made in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, our country and the other AES countries still face the threat of international destabilization and attacks on the vital interests of their populations,” it added.

Mali, “like the other AES countries, faces the crucial question of the need to continue the transition in order to achieve total pacification of our states,” it highlighted.

The Malian government set the transition period at 24 months on June 6, 2022, and scheduled the presidential election for February 4 and 18, 2024, but later announced a “slight delay” due to technical reasons.