Mali President Tries To Calm Unrest With Court Dissolution

Mali president tries to calm unrest with court dissolution

Bamako, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jul, 2020 ) :Mali's embattled president announced the dissolution of the constitutional court in an attempt to calm the major civil unrest gripping the vulnerable African country, as more opposition leaders were arrested.

The court has been at the centre of controversy since it overturned provisional results for a parliamentary poll earlier this year, triggering protests in several cities that on Friday descended into violence.

Clashes raged again in the capital Bamako on Saturday as demonstrators -- angered by a long-running militant conflict, economic woes and perceived government corruption -- demanded the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

Authorities say four people have died in the unrest, while six opposition figures have been detained in two days as the government cracks down on an alliance known as the June 5 Movement.

Keita said he had repealed the licences of all remaining members of the constitutional court so that new judges could be appointed from next week.

"The reformed court can quickly help us find solutions to the disputes arising from the legislative elections," he said in an evening television address.

Following a long-delayed parliamentary poll in March -- which Keita's party won -- the court overturned the provisional results for about 30 seats, a move that saw several members of Keita's party elected and is widely viewed as having ignited the latest crisis.

The 75-year-old president, in power since 2013, had already suggested last week that new constitutional court judges could revisit that decision.