Mali Sees Largest Pro-Democracy Protests in Years

On May 3, 2025, hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Bamako, Mali to call for an end to the administration of Assimi Goïta and support democratic reform. It was the first broad-scale public display of support for democracy and act of civil resistance towards the military junta since its inception in 2020. The protests arise from numerous abuses committed by the president's administration and its allies, including the jailing of resistance figures and dissolution of the political opposition and establishment, as well as efforts to hold on to power past the end of Goïta's mandate in 2025. The moves have been condemned by Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights, which claim they represent a repeated, consistent pattern of repression since the beginning of the transition period.