The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup that ushered in a period of democratic rule. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first two democratic presidential elections in 1992 and 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, he stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou Toumani TOURE, who was elected to a second term in 2007 elections that were widely judged to be free and fair. Malian returnees from Libya in 2011 exacerbated tensions in northern Mali, and Tuareg ethnic militias started a rebellion in January 2012. Low- and mid-level soldiers, frustrated with the poor handling of the rebellion overthrew TOURE on 22 March. Intensive mediation efforts led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) returned power to a civilian administration in April with the appointment of interim President Dioncounda TRAORE. The post-coup chaos led to rebels expelling the Malian military from the three northern regions of the country and allowed Islamic militants to set up strongholds. Hundreds of thousands of northern Malians fled the violence to southern Mali and neighboring countries, exacerbating regional food insecurity in host communities. An international military intervention to retake the three northern regions began in January 2013 and within a month most of the north had been retaken. In a democratic presidential election conducted in July and August of 2013, Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA was elected president in the second round.
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
several previous; latest drafted August 1991, approved by referendum 12 January 1992, effective 25 February 1992; amended 1999; note - suspended briefly in 2012 (2012)
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); the election scheduled for 29 April 2012 and delayed following the March 2012 coup took place 28 July 2013 and a runoff election was held on 11 August 2013; prime minister appointed by the president
election results:
Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA elected president in a runoff election; percent of vote - Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA 77.6%, Soumaila CISSE 22.4%
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats: 147 seats elected in single seat constituencies and 13 seats elected by Malians abroad; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections:
last held in two rounds on 24 November 2013 and on 15 December 2013 (next to be held in 2017); note the scheduled July 2012 election was cancelled due to a coup d'etat and the Tuareg Rebellion
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FDR coalition 64 (RPM 61, PARENA 3), ADP coalition 42 (ADEMA 20, URD 18, CNID 4), FARE 5, CODEM 5, SADI 4, ASMA-CFP 4, Yelema 2, independents 16, other 5; note - 13 seats were from voters abroad
highest court(s):
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 19 members organized into 3 civil chambers and a criminal chamber); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court members appointed by the Ministry of Justice to serve 5-year terms; Constitutional Court members selected - 3 each by the president, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Council of the Magistracy; members serve single renewable 7-year terms
subordinate courts:
High Court of Justice (jurisdiction limited to cases of high treason or criminal offenses by the president or ministers while in office)
African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence or SADI [Oumar MARIKO, secretary general]
Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Dionconda TRAORE]
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP (a coalition of political parties including ADEMA and URD formed in December 2006 to support the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE)
Alliance for Democratic Change (political group comprised mainly of Tuareg from Mali's northern region)
Alliance for the Solidarity of Mali-Convergence of Patriotic Forces or ASMA-CFP [Soumeylou Boubeye MAIGA]
Alternative Forces for Renewal and Emergence or FARE [Modibo SIDIBE]
Convergence for the development of Mali or CODEM [Housseyni GUINDO]
Economic and Social Development Party or PDES [Jamille BITTAR]
Front for Democracy and the Republic or FDR (a coalition of political parties including RPM and PARENA formed to oppose the presidential candidacy of Amadou TOURE)
Movement for a Common Destiny or MODEC [Koniba SIDIBE]
National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL]
Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Mady KONATE]
Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME]
Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel Kokalla MAIGA]
Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT [Amadou Ali NIANGADOU]
Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA]
Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE]
Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Tieman Hubert COULIBALY]
Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Younoussi TOURE]
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red
note:uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; the colors from left to right are the same as those of neighboring Senegal (which has an additional green central star) and the reverse of those on the flag of neighboring Guinea
note:adopted 1962; the anthem is also known as "Pour L'Afrique et pour toi, Mali" (For Africa and for You, Mali) and "A ton appel Mali" (At Your Call, Mali)
Among the 25 poorest countries in the world, Mali is a landlocked country that depends on gold mining and agricultural exports for revenue. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger River and about 65% of its land area is desert or semidesert. About 10% of the population is nomadic and about 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Mali remains dependent on foreign aid. The country's fiscal status fluctuates with gold and agricultural commodity prices and the harvest; cotton and gold exports make up around 80% of export earnings. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is developing its iron ore extraction industry to diversify foreign exchange earnings away from gold. Mali has invested in tourism but security issues hurt the industry. Mali experienced economic growth of about 5% per year between 1996-2011, but the global recession, a military coup, and terrorist activity in the north of the country caused a decline in output in 2012; growth resumed at a slow pace in 2013. The main threat to Mali’s economy is a return to physical insecurity. Other long term threats to the economy include high population growth, corruption, a weak infrastructure, and low levels of human capital.
general assessment:
domestic system unreliable but improving; increasing use of local radio loops to extend network coverage to remote areas
domestic:
fixed-line subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has increased sharply to about 70 per 100 persons
international:
country code - 223; satellite communications center and fiber-optic links to neighboring countries; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean) (2010)
national public TV broadcaster; 2 privately owned companies provide subscription services to foreign multi-channel TV packages; national public radio broadcaster supplemented by a large number of privately owned and community broadcast stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)
1,800 km (downstream of Koulikoro; low water levels on the River Niger cause problems in dry years; in the months before the rainy season the river is not navigable by commercial vessels) (2011)
Malian Armed Forces: Army (Armee de Terre), Republic of Mali Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Republique du Mali, FARM), National Guard (Garde National du Mali) (2013)
current situation:
Mali is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; women and girls are forced into domestic servitude, agricultural labor, and support roles in gold mines, as well as subjected to sex trafficking; Malian boys are found in conditions of forced labor in agricultural settings, gold mines, and the informal commercial sector, as well as forced begging both within Mali and neighboring countries; Malians and other Africans who travel through Mali to Mauritania, Algeria, or Libya in hopes of reaching Europe are particularly at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking; men and boys, primarily of Songhai ethnicity, are subjected to the longstanding practice of debt bondage in the salt mines of Taoudenni in northern Mali; some members of Mali's black Tamachek community are subjected to traditional slavery-related practices, and this involuntary servitude reportedly has extended to their children; reports indicate that non-governmental armed groups operating in northern Mali recruited children as combatants, cooks, porters, guards, spies, and sex slaves
tier rating:
Tier 2 Watch List - Mali does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; although the government enacted a comprehensive anti-trafficking law in 2012, it did not demonstrate evidence of overall increasing efforts to address human trafficking over the previous year; the government has failed to prosecute or convict any trafficking offenders, has not provided any direct services to victims, and has not made any tangible prevention efforts; the government continues to cite a lack of personnel and resources as reasons for its inability to adequately identify and rescue child victims of forced labor in the mining industry (2013)
Central Intelligence Agency
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