Malians look to elections for stability

Canadian troops arrive as hope, tensions grow

The arrival of Canadian troops in Mali has coincided with raised hopes and heightened tensions over what is expected to be a decisive moment in the African country’s recent history: presidential elections this month.

The elections, scheduled for July 29, are being hailed as an important milestone for the country, which has been riven by political unrest and growing instability marked by widening internal divisions and frustration at the government.

The hope among many Malians is that a successful presidential vote — to be followed later this year by regional elections — will begin to reverse the country’s lagging fortunes and pave a path out of the current morass, which has endured for six years.

“Politically, nothing has really moved over five years. There hasn’t been any result, really,” Ousmane Maiga told The Canadian Press during a recent visit to a bustling outdoor market in Mali’s capital, Bamako. “Maybe with this election, it can change. Because Malian citizens, the Malian population see that it’s very important to make a good choice. To have someone who has a vision. And to also choose someone who is not included in corruption.”

Malians aren’t the only ones hoping for a successful presidential election.

“The stability of Mali and the establishment of a government that works for Malians is essential to the success of any Canadian support for this country,” former Canadian ambassador to Mali Louise Ouimet wrote in an online post this week.

However, preparations for the vote have been marred by fighting between ethnic groups and attacks on government forces by Islamic jihadists, as well as more mundane challenges, such as registering voters.

There are also questions about whether the election will be free and fair — and whether any of the 24 candidates running for the presidency can truly bring the country together and address its deep-seated problems.

“The current picture of Malian politics is rather sad,” Ouimet wrote for the Canadian International Council’s Africa study group. “Candidates and their parties have said little about their vision for a new Mali or solutions to the current problems.”

Mali was considered an example of stability in Africa until a separatist rebellion in 2012 threatened the capital, which was itself in turmoil due to an army coup that ousted then-president Amadou Toumani Toure.

After the French military intervened and the UN agreed to deploy a peacekeeping force to help stabilize the country, a new presidential election was held in 2013.

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won by a landslide. But the intervening years have instead seen Malians grow disillusioned as government corruption endures.