2020 Malian parliamentary election explained

Country:Mali
Previous Election:2013
Next Election:Next
Seats For Election:All 147 seats in the National Assembly
Election Date:29 March 2020 (first round)
Nopercentage:yes
Party1:Rally for Mali
Seats1:51
Last Election1:66
Party2:Alliance for Democracy in Mali
Seats2:24
Last Election2:16
Party3:Union for the Republic and Democracy
Seats3:19
Last Election3:17
Party4:Movement for Mali
Seats4:10
Last Election4:New
Party5:Democratic Alliance for Peace
Seats5:6
Last Election5:2
Party6:Convergence for the Development of Mali
Seats6:5
Last Election6:5
Party7:Alliance for Solidarity in Mali
Seats7:4
Last Election7:2
Party8:Union for Democracy and Development (Mali)
Seats8:4
Last Election8:1
Party9:African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence
Seats9:3
Last Election9:5
Party10:Yéléma
Seats10:2
Last Election10:0
Party11:Party for National Rebirth
Seats11:2
Last Election11:3
Party12:Social Democratic Convention
Seats12:2
Last Election12:2
Party13:Party for the Restoration of Malian Values
Seats13:1
Last Election13:1
Party14:Malian Union for the African Democratic Rally
Seats14:1
Last Election14:2
Party15:Party for Economic Development and Solidarity
Seats15:1
Last Election15:3
Party16:Alliance for the Republic (Mali)
Seats16:1
Last Election16:New
Party17:Patriotic Movement for Renewal
Seats17:1
Last Election17:3
Party18:Union of Democratic Forces for Progress
Seats18:1
Last Election18:0
Party19:Mali Kanu Party
Seats19:1
Last Election19:New
Party20:Socialist Party Yelen Kura
Seats20:1
Last Election20:New
Party21:Other parties
Leader21:
Seats21:5
Party22:Independents
Leader22:
Seats22:2
Last Election22:4
President of the National Assembly
Before Election:Issaka Sidibé
Before Party:RPM
After Election:Moussa Timbiné
After Party:RPM

Parliamentary elections were held in Mali on 29 March 2020, with a second round on 19 April.[1] They were initially scheduled to be held on 25 November and 16 December 2018,[2] but were moved to April 2019 and then to June 2019,[3] before being postponed until 2020 by the Council of Ministers.[4] The elections were marred by violence in the north and center of the country.

These were the first elections to fill Mali's 147-seat parliament since 2013.[5] Thousands of Malians have died as the country suffered sporadic attacks by jihadists as well as cases of inter-ethnic violence since unrest began in 2012.

Electoral system

See main article: Elections in Mali. The 147 members of the National Assembly are elected from 125 constituencies using the two-round system to serve five-year terms. In constituencies where there is more than one seat to be elected, block voting is used.[6]

A gender parity law requiring a minimum percentage of thirty percent women for candidates for Malian elected bodies and for appointments to governmental bodies was established as Law 2015-052 of 18 December 2015,[7] after winning a vote in the National Assembly on 12 November 2015.[8] In the first round of the 2020 legislative election, 427 out of 1451 candidates were women. In the final result from the second round, the new parliament had 42 women out of 147 seats (29%), about three times the 9.5% fraction in the previous parliament.

Conduct

Leader of the opposition Soumaïla Cissé was kidnapped on 26 March, three days prior to the elections.[9] Village chiefs, election officials, and an election observer were kidnapped; there were death threats and a police station was ransacked according to the Coalition for the Observation of Elections in Mali, which had sent 1,600 observers. Nine people were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine on 29 March. Three soldiers were killed and three injured in another landmine on 30 March. An al-Qaeda-aligned group took responsibility for the bombings, as well as an attack on soldiers and the killing of a group of Dozo hunters on 27 March.

Some people were not able to vote on 19 April, and on 30 April the Constitutional Court overturned the results for 31 seats. Keita's Rally for Mali was given ten additional seats in Parliament, making it the largest bloc.[10]

Results

Parties formed different alliances in different constituencies, making it impossible to determine a national set of vote figures.[11] The election continued a decades-long trend of turnout being under 40% in the country, and the first-round elections were marred by violence in the north and center of the country.[12] The Voice of America reported voter turnout of only 12% in Bamako because of concerns about COVID-19, violence, and voter indifference.[13]

PartySeats
First
round
Second
round
Total+/–
Rally for Mali104151–15
Alliance for Democracy in Mali22224+8
Union for the Republic and Democracy41519+2
01010New
Democratic Alliance for Peace336+4
Convergence for the Development of Mali0550
Alliance for Solidarity in Mali044+2
Union for Democracy and Development044+3
African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence123–2
Yéléma112+2
Party for National Rebirth022–1
Social Democratic Convention0220
bgcolor=#008951 Party for the Restoration of Malian Values0110
Malian Union for the African Democratic Rally101–1
Party for Economic Development and Solidarity011–2
Alliance for the Republic011New
Patriotic Movement for Renewal011–2
Union of Democratic Forces for Progress011+1
Mali Kanu Party011New
Socialist Party Yelen Kura011New
Other parties055
bgcolor=Independents022–2
Votes castFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
align=left colspan=2Valid votes2,603,15795.482,186,07792.67
align=left colspan=2Invalid/blank votes123,1354.52172,832 7.33
align=left colspan=2Total2,726,2921002,358,909100
align=left colspan=2Registered voters/turnout7,663,46435.586,691,305 35.25
align=left colspan=10Source: Constitutional Court, Full results, MaliWeb CC 2nd round Full results 2nd round

Aftermath

Opposition parties established the French: Mouvement du 5 juin - Rassemblement des forces patriotiques (5 June Movement - Rally of Patriotic Forces) and thousands led by Mahmoud Dicko marched in protest on 5 June. Soumaïla Cissé was reappointed Prime Minister on 11 June, and massive protests calling for President Keita's resignation were held on 19 June.

A coup forced the resignation of Keita and Dicko as well as the dissolution of parliament on 19 August.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mali: first round of legislative elections set for March 29. Jeune Afrique. 23 January 2020.
  2. Web site: Mali: les élections législatives reportées d'un mois. 2018-09-13. Le Figaro.fr. fr. 2020-01-02.
  3. Web site: Mali: Legislative elections postponed to June 2019 /update 16. GardaWorld. en. 2020-01-02.
  4. Web site: Mali : adoption d'un projet de loi prolongeant le mandat des députés jusqu'en 2020. 2019-06-08. JeuneAfrique.com. fr-FR. 2020-01-02.
  5. https://www.voanews.com/africa/elections-continue-mali-despite-virus-violence-fears Elections Continue in Mali Despite Virus, Violence Fears
  6. Web site: IPU PARLINE database: MALI (Assemblée Nationale), Electoral system. archive.ipu.org. 2020-01-02.
  7. live.
  8. live.
  9. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mali-opposition-leader-abducted-campaign-team-north-69810810?cid=clicksource_76_null_articleroll_hed Mali opposition leader abducted with campaign team in north
  10. News: Mali crisis: From disputed election to president's resignation . Sep 12, 2020 . www.aljazeera.com . Al Jazeera . 18 Aug 2020 . en.
  11. http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/m/mali/mali2020.txt Republic of Mali legislative election of March–April 2019
  12. Web site: Al Jazeera . Malian parliamentary elections marred by kidnappings, attacks. March 31, 2020 .
  13. Web site: Voice of America News. Elections Continue in Mali Despite Virus, Violence Fears . Apr 19, 2020. 12 September 2020.
  14. News: Mali coup: President quits after soldiers mutiny . 12 September 2020 . BBC News . 19 August 2020.