The Malian military junta has repeatedly refused to honor its commitments to transition back to a democratic civilian government, resulting in mounting security and economic costs to citizens.

Mali’s military junta marked the fourth calendar year since seizing power in an August 2020 coup by indefinitely postponing elections that were to facilitate a transition back to democratic civilian rule. This marks yet another occasion that the junta has broken a commitment it had made to Malian citizens regarding a transition deadline.

This failure to maintain the transition timeframe fits a pattern of unkept claims the junta has made since seizing power. Coupled with the military regime’s announcement that it is withdrawing from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), all indications are that the junta is intent on holding power indefinitely. In the meantime, security and economic conditions have worsened substantially under military rule—affecting the livelihoods of millions of Malians.

The following is a review of the junta’s claims relative to the reality Malians face.

Since taking power, the Malian military junta has failed to uphold the commitments that it has made to return power to civilian rule, challenging the very premise of a transition. The timeline below reviews the broken commitments that have defined the junta’s rule.

Additional Resources

Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Deaths Linked to Militant Islamist Violence in Africa Continue to Spiral,” Infographic, January 29, 2024.
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Term Limit Evasions and Coups in Africa: Two Sides of the Same Coin,” Infographic, October 24, 2023.
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Mali Catastrophe Accelerating under Junta Rule,” Infographic, July 10, 2023.
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Malian Military Junta Scuttles Security Partnerships while Militant Violence Surges,” Infographic, February 27, 2023.
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Debunking the Malian Junta’s Claims,” Spotlight, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, April 12, 2022.
Joseph Siegle, “Africa’s Coups and the Role of External Actors,” Italian Institute for International Political Studies, December 17, 2021.
Joseph Siegle and Daniel Eizenga, “Beware the Popular Coup,” AllAfrica.com, August 30, 2020.