A supporter of Mali’s presidential candidate Ibrahim Boubacar Keita takes part in a rally on August 9, 2013 in Bamako/AFP
An electorate of almost seven million had been asked on Sunday to choose between former premier Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-finance minister Soumaila Cisse to lead Mali’s recovery, following last year’s coup that ignited an Islamist insurgency and a French-led military intervention.
The election, the first since 2007, was crucial for unlocking more than $4 billion in aid promised after international donors halted contributions in the wake of the coup.
The European Union’s election observation mission was to present a report on turnout and voting conditions on Monday.
On Sunday, torrential rain affected early voting, with fewer polling stations opening on time than in the first round, when a turnout of 48.9 percent was seen as a key sign that the electoral process would be viewed as credible.
The rain stopped by lunchtime and AFP reporters in the capital Bamako witnessed a steady stream of voters joining queues to cast their ballots in the afternoon, but some polling station managers said their numbers were 50 percent down on the first round.
A network of some 2,000 independent Malian observers issued a statement welcoming the smooth running of the poll, but it noted that fewer voting booths were able to open on time in Bamako and in the southern towns of Koulikoro and Kayes.
“The rain is trying to ruin our day. I hope it stops, otherwise they will have to extend the voting hours,” said Oumar Toure, one of the few voters who turned up at the opening of a polling station in a city centre school.
Both Keita and Cisse have declared themselves confident of victory in the run-off, called after none of the 27 candidates in the first round achieved an outright majority.
The two men separately appealed for calm among the population in Mali’s post-election recovery period after casting their ballots in Bamako.
The rivals have faced off before, losing the 2002 presidential election to Amadou Toumani Toure, who was overthrown by a military junta in March last year as he was preparing to end his final term in office.
The return to democratic rule will allow France to withdraw most of the 4,500 troops it sent to Mali in January to oust Al-Qaeda-linked extremists who had occupied the north in the chaos that followed the coup, imposing a brutal regime of sharia law characterised by executions and amputations.
About The Author
