The junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, approved the decree on January 29, scrapping laws for the country's over 100 parties and seizing their assets for the state. Officials argue the move ends divisions caused by party proliferation, allowing focus on rebuilding amid an al-Qaeda- and ISIL-linked insurgency that controls much of the land. Supporters see it as a path to unity, while critics fear it deepens authoritarian rule in a region where juntas have delayed returns to democracy.