Mali’s military junta holds referendum on new constitution it calls a step toward new elections

By BABA AHMED
Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian voters are casting ballots on whether to approve a new constitution. The coup leader in charge of the West African country says that Sunday’s referendum is one of the steps toward holding new elections in 2024. That’s been a key demand of the international community after Col. Assimi Goita seized power nearly three years ago. But critics of the junta have said the vote is nothing more than a delaying tactic by a government that wants to extend its time in power. Among other things the new constitution gives more power to the president. It says that the government “conducts the policy of the nation determined by the president.”