Mali dropped French as its official language, more than 60 years after Bamako declared independence. The decision was made under the new constitution, which was approved on Saturday, July 22, according to RT.
The final results of the June referendum on the draft Constitution were upheld by Bamako’s constitutional court, garnering 96.91% of the vote. The 13 national languages spoken in the nation will be formally recognized as official languages, with French serving as the principal working language. 70 additional local languages, some of which received national language recognition by decree in 1982, will also be preserved, among them Bambara, Bobo, Dogon, and Minianka.
The Fourth Republic in Mali officially began on Saturday, July 22, when military junta head Col. Assimi Goita put the nation’s new Constitution into effect.
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