Overview

• Mali's military government, led by Gen. Assimi Goita, has officially dissolved all political parties and banned their gatherings through a decree signed on May 13, 2025.
• The move follows recommendations from a national conference in April that proposed extending Goita's presidency by five years without elections.
• Pro-democracy protests on May 3 and 4 in Bamako were met with repression, and opposition gatherings were suspended ahead of planned demonstrations on May 9.
• Human Rights Watch and party officials report that key opposition figures, including Abba Alhassane and El Bachir Thiam, have been forcibly disappeared by masked gunmen or unidentified individuals.
• Some political actors plan to challenge the dissolution decree in Mali's Constitutional Court, citing constitutional protections for political parties.