Yearbook 2007
Mali. In April, President Amadou Toumani Touré was easily
re-elected for a second term. The popular former general,
who paved the way for democracy in M. 1992, received just
over 68 percent of the vote in the presidential election. In
July, the Alliance for Democracy and Progress received 128
of Parliament's 147 seats. The alliance, which consists of
some 40 parties, joins the president, known as "ATT".
According to
CountryAAH, Mali is praised for his democratic system, whose biggest
shortcoming is the ever-very low turnout. Since the
introduction of democracy, even half of those entitled to
vote have never voted. In this year's presidential election,
attendance was about 36 percent.
After the elections, a strong government reform was
implemented. A new prime minister, Modibo Sidibé, added an
almost brand new ministry. None of the opposition
politicians who held government posts were allowed to
remain.
A small blemish on the country's democratic reputation
was the charges in June against a high school teacher, who
had the students write an essay on a girl who has children
with a fictitious president, and four journalists who wrote
on the essay. Despite protests, even from abroad, the
teacher was sentenced to two months in prison. One of the
journalists was jailed for 13 days, the other three received
conditional sentences.
Despite a peace treaty in 2006, an armed uprising again
flared up among Tuareg governments in the Northeast. Dozens
of army soldiers were robbed and sporadic fighting continued
during the fall. France promised military aid to crush the
insurgency.
In October, the government decided to abolish the death
penalty. The law must first be considered by Parliament to
enter into force.
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