Hurdles aside, Mali goes to presidential polls
Insecurity over terrorism by militants hinders vote
BAMAKO, Mali — Thousands of Malians voted in the presidential election Sunday in the capital, but others struggled in parts of the country’s north, where some ballot boxes were burned, and in the central region, where voters feared threats by extremist groups.
Polls closed Sunday and officials began counting the votes. Results are expected within the week. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent in the first round, Malians will vote in a second round on Aug. 12.
Voters have expressed concern about being targeted after al-qaida’s Mali branch warned citizens for months against going to the polls. Deadly communal clashes between ethnic groups and accusations of heavy-handed counterterror operations have complicated what President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita hopes will be an election victory leading him to a second term.
The 73-year-old, who was elected in 2013, faces 23 candidates in the first round.
“It is a real pleasure for me to perform this citizen act, and it is the start of victory for the people of Mali, who have voted in calm and serenity,” he said.
His main challenger is 68-yearold Soumaila Cisse, his opponent in 2013, who has criticized the president for not addressing Mali’s rising insecurity.
“Despite the difficulties of insecurity and transport, it was a duty for me to come and vote here with the people who trust me,” Cisse said.
Several political parties have expressed doubts about a valid election after duplicate and fictitious polling stations were listed on the electoral commission’s website.
The government and the electoral commission have promised a smooth vote, but many in Mali are still worried about postelection violence should Keita win in the first round.
“I voted, but all that people are saying is worrying me. I do hope there won’t be an election crisis,” said 67-year-old Ibrahim Traore.
Experts say Mali is less secure than in 2013, when French-backed forces pushed extremists in the north from their strongholds.
A more assertive response by Mali’s security forces to the attacks has led to accusations by human rights groups of extrajudicial killings. In some areas neighbors have turned on one another amid suspicions of influence by extremist groups.
Oumar Toure, a leader of a local civic association in Mopti, said things have shifted there.
“The current president IBK considers Mopti region his enemy, and he left it. That’s why all the insecurity of the north has come to settle here,” said Toure. “In Mopti, it’s the law of the strongest.”
United Nations Secretary-general Antonio Guterres called on Malians to maintain a peaceful course and said in a statement Saturday that he was encouraged by a peaceful campaigning period, despite security challenges in the north and center.