Gambiaj.com – (BAMAKO, Mali) – Mali’s political landscape saw a significant development with the formation of the Coalition of Forces for the Republic (CFR), led by prominent religious leader Imam Mahmoud Dicko, as the movement begins registering its first supporters.
The coalition aims to end the transitional military regime, which has governed without elections since August 2020, and restore fundamental freedoms and constitutional order in the country.
Just ten days after its announcement on December 5, several key Malian political and civil society figures living in exile have officially pledged their support to the CFR. Among the first is Housseini Amion Guindo, also known as “Poulo,” a former minister and president of the Convergence for the Development of Mali (Codem) party, as well as the Jigiya Kura movement, which was dissolved alongside all other political organizations.
A longtime opponent of the military regime, Guindo described the CFR as a “third way” between what he called a ruthless dictatorship and jihadist threats.
“In Mali, we have two extremes. On one side, a ruthless dictatorship, and on the other, jihadists with a dark agenda,” Guindo said.
“We have fallen into a kind of Manichaeism, and government communication reflects this: all those who are not with them are supposedly enemies of the country. The jihadists feed the dictatorship, and the dictatorship feeds the jihadists. Therefore, we felt that the CFR constituted what I call the third way.”
The CFR, which presents itself as a peaceful resistance movement, calls on Malians to engage in civil disobedience to challenge the military government.
The initiative was announced by academic Étienne Fakaba Sissoko, a former political prisoner exiled for denouncing government propaganda in his writings.
Guindo expressed optimism about the coalition’s potential to unite Malians opposed to both the military regime and jihadist groups.
“After five years, we see the situation the country is in. The dictatorship is increasingly oppressive, the jihadists are increasingly oppressive… Imam Dicko is a bridge between religion and politics. He wears both hats at once. The CFR can be a new beacon of hope for all Malians,” he said.
Other early supporters include Abdoulaye Coulibaly, president of the Initiative for the Realization of the People’s Expectations (ICAP) party, and Oumar Abdou Touré, president of the Kaoural Renouveau association. Touré praised Imam Dicko as a unifying moral voice in Mali’s pro-democracy movement.
“In a context where free voices are threatened and institutions are weakened by a failed military junta, we felt it necessary to join a collective force campaigning for a return to constitutional order and the restoration of the fundamental principles of our Republic,” Touré said.
He added that Dicko’s history of speaking truth to power and advocating for justice and peace makes him “an essential figure in the current struggle.”
Several other figures in Mali’s pro-democracy movement have voiced support for the CFR but are waiting for Imam Dicko, currently in exile in Algeria, to make a public statement before formally joining the coalition, which positions him as the movement’s republican figurehead.
