Malians vote in presidential run-off amid attacks and threats
BAMAKO, Mali • Malians voted Sunday in a run-off presidential election to determine if incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will remain in office in this sprawling West African nation threatened by rising extremist violence. He faced off against opposition leader Soumaila Cisse.
Sunday’s polls had low turnout by closing amid attacks and threats of violence by Islamic extremists. Results are expected this week.
The chairman of Arkodia village in the north Niafunke commune in Timbuktu region was killed, four election workers were physically harassed and the polling station there was burned, according to the Citizen Observation Pool of Mali which had more than 2,000 observers. The organization reported several incidents Sunday.
Two polling stations were burned in Keltamba and election officials were harmed by gunmen in Ngouma commune in central Mali, observers said.
In north and central Mali more than 50 polling stations had closed before noon because of the threats by extremists in those regions, the organization said.
In the polling centres covered by its observers, the organization said the participation rate was about 8.1 per cent. It said 14.4 per cent participated in Timbuktu, and only 4.8 per cent in Bamako.
However, their observers did not cover all voting areas, and the election commission hasn’t yet given its estimate of voter turnout.
Nearly 43 per cent of voters made it to the polls last month and at least 671 polling stations were closed. Despite the relatively low turnout officials called the vote well-conducted.
Mali has grown more insecure since Keita beat Cisse in a second round election in 2013.
Malian authorities arrested three jihadists on Friday who said they were preparing to carry out an attack during the vote in Bamako, said Mali army spokesman Col. Idrissa Traore on Sunday.
Extremists are staging more bold attacks that have spread to central Mali, where both Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants are present. Deadly communal clashes between ethnic groups and accusations of heavy-handed counterterror operations have caused even deeper tensions and mistrust of the state.
Still, a second term for Keita, 73, seems likely. He received 41.7 per cent of the vote in the first round from a field of 24 candidates and has gained endorsements from some other candidates.
Dressed in his traditional white boubou, Keita voted near his home in Bamako on Sunday.
“I hope that everyone will be very vigilant,” he said, saying that any suspected attempts at fraud should be reported to police. “Ultimately this election must end as it should, with the celebration of democracy ... This is what we hope for in our hearts.”
Cisse, 68, who placed second in the first round with nearly 18 per cent of the vote, has blamed Keita for insecurity, violence and corruption. His opposition party also alleges there was voting fraud in July.
Cisse has not received major endorsements from failed candidates but does have the backing of a popular spiritual leader Mohamed Ould Bouye Haidara.
“This time, I have a good feeling,” Cisse has said.