Mali has dropped French as its official language following the introduction of a new constitution in the country.
French, which has been the West African country’s official language since 1960, was dropped following Mali’s June 18 referendum with a staggering 96.91% of vote passage.
French, however, will be the working language, as 13 national languages spoken in the country will also receive official national language status.
Mali’s junta leader, Col. Assimi Goita, on Saturday, put the country’s new constitution into effect, marking the beginning of the Fourth Republic in the West African nation.
The junta had initially promised to hold elections in February 2022 but later delayed them to February 2024.
Since taking power in an August 2020 coup, Mali’s military has maintained that the constitution would be critical to rebuilding the country.
Mali witnessed two coups in recent years, in August 2020 and May 2021.