Mali’s military leader, General Assimi Goita, has given himself a five-year term as president without an election. He can renew this term as many times as he wants. The decision became law on Thursday.
The law follows talks held by the military government in April, which most political parties refused to attend. It was approved by a military-picked parliament last week and signed by Goita on Tuesday.
This means Goita could stay in power until at least 2030, even though the military had earlier promised to hand over power to civilians by March 2024.
In May, Goita dissolved all political parties. Around the same time, there were several kidnappings of pro-democracy activists in the capital, Bamako, shortly after a protest by hundreds of people.
The new law is one of several moves by the military to tighten its grip on power. Since leading two coups in 2020 and 2021, Goita has ruled the country, while armed groups linked to al-Qaida and ISIS continue to cause unrest.
Mali, a landlocked country in the Sahel region, has faced years of political instability, like many of its West and Central African neighbors.