TITLE III. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 29
The President of the Republic shall be the Chief of State.
He shall be the guardian of the Constitution. He shall incarnate the national unity. He shall be the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity, respect of treaties and international agreements. He shall assure the regular function of public powers and the continuity of the State.
Article 30
The President of the Republic shall be elected for five years by direct universal suffrage and by an absolute majority of the votes cast. If this is not obtained on the first ballot there shall be a second ballot.
He shall be re-eligible only once.
Article 31
Every candidate for the Presidency of the Republic shall be of native Malian nationality and in possession of all his civic and political rights.
Article 32
The presidential elections shall be at least twenty one days and not more than forty days before the expiration of the mandate of the current President.
Article 33
Law shall determine the procedure, the conditions of eligibility and of presentation of candidates for the presidential elections, of the manner of balloting, of the compilation and proclamation of the results. It shall provide for all dispositions necessary so that the elections are free and regular.
The President of the Republic shall be elected by an absolute majority of the ballots cast. If this is not obtained on the first ballot, there shall be a second ballot, the second Sunday following. This second ballot shall only be open to the two candidates having gained the greatest number of votes.
If one of the candidates withdraws, the ballot shall remain open to the candidate coming next in order of the number of votes obtained.
If within the seven days preceding the date limit of filing the presentation of candidature, one of the persons having, less than thirty days before that date, publicly announced his decision to be a candidate, dies or finds himself impeded, the Constitutional Court may decide the procedure of the election.
If before the first ballot, one of the candidates dies or finds himself incapacitated, the Constitutional Court shall pronounce the procedure of the election.
In the case of death or incapacitation of one of the two candidates most favored in the first ballot before any eventual withdrawals, or of one of the two candidates remaining after any such withdrawals, the Constitutional Court shall decide the recommencing of the entire electoral process.
The convocation of electors shall be done by decree taken in the Council of Ministers.
The Constitutional Court shall control the regularity of these operations, shall decide on contestations, shall proclaim the results of ballots.
Article 34
The Presidency of the Republic shall be incompatible with the exercise of any other political function, of any other electoral mandate, of any public employment, of any other professional and lucrative activity.
Article 35
During his mandate, the President of the Republic shall not, himself, nor by intermediary, buy or take in bailment anything which belongs to the domain of the State, without prior authorization by the Supreme Court within the conditions determined by law.
He shall not take part either himself nor by intermediary in the purchase of supplies nor in auctions for the administrations or institutions dependant on the State or subject to their control.
Article 36
In the event that the President of the Republic is temporarily incapacitated from fulfilling his functions, his powers shall be provisionally exercised by the Prime Minister.
In the case of vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic for any cause whatsoever or incapacitation of its functioning as declared by the Constitutional Court seated by the President of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, the functions of the President of the Republic shall be exercised by the President of the National Assembly.
This shall result in the election of a new President for a new term of five years.
The election of the new President shall take place at least twenty one days after and at most forty days after the official declaration of the vacancy or the final characterization of the incapacitation.
In all cases of incapacitation or of vacancy Articles 38, 41, 42 and 50 of the present Constitution shall not apply.
Article 37
Before assuming office, the President elect shall take before the Supreme Court the following oath:
“I SWEAR BEFORE GOD AND THE MALIAN PEOPLE TO PRESERVEFAITHFULLY THE REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT TO RESPECT ANDTO SEE THAT THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS ARE RESPECTED BY OTHERS, TO CARRY OUT MY DUTIES IN THE HIGHER INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE, TOPRESERVE THE DEMOCRATIC GAINS, TO GUARANTEE THE NOTIONALUNITY, THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE HOME LAND AND NATIONTERRITORIAL INTEGRITY.
I SOLEMNLY AND WITH HONOR UNDERTAKE TO UTILIZE EVERYTHINGIN ORDER TO REALIZE AFRICAN UNITY.”
After the instatement ceremony and within forty eight hours time, the President of the Supreme Court shall publicly receive the written declaration of the good intentions of the President of the Republic.
This declaration shall be the object of an annual reaffirmation.
Article 38
The President of the Republic shall name the Prime Minister. He shall set limits on his powers upon his (the Prime Minister’s) presentation of the resignation of the Government.
Upon proposition of the Prime Minister, he (the President) names the other members of the Government and shall set limits upon their powers.
Article 39
The President of the Republic shall preside over the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister substitutes for him within the conditions established by the present Constitution.
Article 40
The President of the Republic shall promulgate the laws within the 15 days that follow the transmission to the Government of the final text adopted.
He can before the expiration of this time demand of the National Assembly a new deliberation of the laws or of certain articles.
This new deliberation shall not be refused and shall suspend the time period in which the law must be promulgated.
In the case of urgency, the time of promulgation can be shortened to eight days.
Article 41
The President of the Republic, on the proposal of the Government, during the sessions of or upon proposition of the National Assembly, after consultation by the Constitutional Court published in the Official Journal, may submit to referendum all questions of national interest, any bill dealing with the organization of public authority, entailing approval of a Community agreement, or providing to authorize the ratification of a treaty that, without being contrary to the Constitution, might effect the functioning of (existing) institutions.
In the event that the Referendum ends in the adoption of the bill, the President of the Republic shall promulgate it according to the time limit provided in Article 40.
Article 42
The President of the Republic may, after consultation with the Prime Minister and the President of the National Assembly, pronounce the dissolution of the National Assembly.
General elections shall take place twenty one days at the least and forty days at the most, after the dissolution.
The National Assembly shall not be dissolved in the year following these elections.
Article 43
The President of the Republic shall communicate with the National Assembly and the High Council of Territorial Units by messages which he has read by the President of the National Assembly or by the same of the High Council of Territorial Units. Out of session, the National Assembly or the High Council of Territorial Units meets in special session for this purpose.
Article 44
The President of the Republic shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. He shall preside over the High Council and the Committee of Defense of the National Defense.
Article 45
The President of the Republic shall be the President of the High Council of the Judiciary. He shall exercise the power of pardon. He shall propose laws of amnesty.
Article 46
The President of the Republic shall sign the Ordinances and decrees taken in the Council of Ministers.
He shall name civil servants and high military officers (as) established by law.
The High Chancellor, Generals and Admirals, Ambassadors and Envoys Extraordinary, the Governors of the Regions, (and) the Directors of the Central Administration shall be named by decree taken in the Council of Ministers.
Article 47
The Members of the Supreme Court shall be named by decree taken in the Council of Ministers.
Article 48
The President of the Republic shall accredit the Ambassadors and the Envoys Extraordinary to foreign powers.
Foreign Ambassadors and Envoys Extraordinary shall be accredited to him.
Article 49
The President of the Republic shall decree after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, the state of siege and state of emergency.
Article 50
When the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the nation, the integrity of national territory, (or) the fulfillment of its international commitments are threatened in a grave and immediate manner and when the regular functioning of the constitutional governmental authorities is interrupted, the President of the Republic shall take the measures commanded by these circumstances, after consultation with the Prime Minister, the Presidents of the National Assembly and of the High Council of Territorial Units as well as the Constitutional Court.
He informs the nation of these events by a message.
The application of these exceptional powers by the President of the Republic shall not in any case compromise the national sovereignty or territorial integrity.
The exceptional powers shall aspire to assure the continuity of the State and the reestablishment without undue delay the regular functioning of institutions in conformity with the Constitution.
The National Assembly shall meet by right and shall not be dissolved during the exercise of these exceptional powers.
Article 51
The President of the Republic may delegate certain of his powers to the Prime Minister.
The acts of the President of the Republic other than those preordained in articles 38,41, 42, 45, and 50 as well as the first paragraph of this article shall be countersigned by the Prime Minister and in the applicable case by the Ministers concerned.
Article 52
The law shall establish the benefits accorded to the President of the Republic and organize the manner of granting a pension to former Presidents of the Republic possessing their civil rights.
