The 1992 Constitution of Mali was approved by a referendum on 12 January 1992 after being drawn up by a national conference in August 1991. The constitution provides for multi party democracy within a

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

system. It was briefly suspended after the 2012 military coup.

Background

The original Malian constitution was abrogat''e''d on 6 December 1968 after a military ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' and replaced by a new fundamental law. A new con''s''titution adopted in 1974 after a referendum on 2 June 1974 created a one party state while moving the state from military rule.US Department of State: Background Note: Mali
/ref> This constitution lasted until the overthrow of

Moussa Traoré Moussa Traoré (25 September 1936 – 15 September 2020) was a Malian soldier, politician, and dictator who was President of Mali from 1968 to 1991. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ousting of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he ...

in a coup d'état in 1991. The new regime under

Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré (4 November 19489 November 2020) was a Malian politician. He supervised Mali's first multiparty elections as chairman of the transitional government (1991–1992), and later became the second democratically-elected Presiden ...

moved to establish a national conference which drew up the new constitution in August 1991. This constitution was overwhelmingly approved by referendum on 12 January 1992 with over 98% of those voting approving the constitution.Elections in Mali
/ref>

Features

Under the constitution the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

is the chief of state and head of the armed forces. He is elected to a five-year term, with a limit of two terms, and appoints the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

as head of the government. The Prime Minister is responsible to the

National Assembly of Mali The National Assembly of Mali is the unicameral country's legislative body of 147 voting members. Members of the National Assembly, called deputies, are elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term, during which they enjoy parliament ...

and can be removed by a no confidence vote. The constitution provides for multi party democracy with the only prohibition against parties on ethnic, gender, regional or religious grounds. The constitution states that Mali adheres to the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

and the

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent. It emerged under th ...

. It guarantees the right to strike and the independence of the judiciary. The Constitutional Court decides whether laws abide by the constitution and guarantees the liberties and fundamental rights of the people of Mali.

References

External links

English translation of Constitution of Mali
{{Constitutions of Africa

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Politics of Mali