Mali junta says delayed referendum will be held 18 June

Mali’s military authorities have announced 18 June as the new date for a referendum on a draft constitution.

Security forces will vote a week earlier, government spokesman Col Abdoulaye Maïgasaid said in a decree on state television on Friday.

The junta had set the referendum on constitutional changes for 19 March, before it was postponed.

A new constitution is one of the key steps put in place before the restoration of a civilian government, following the ousting of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in 2020.

Elections are due to be held in February next year.

Mali has been facing a growing security crisis with frequent attacks by jihadist groups.