Keita favourite to win Mali poll as 36,000 troops deployed

Malians voted in a run-off presidential election on Sunday, with incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita expected to beat the opposition challenger despite a surge in ethnic and militant violence during his tenure.

The first round on July 29 was marred by security incidents at polling places, as well as opposition charges of fraud. But as Sunday’s voting got under way, no serious incidents were reported. Soldiers ran body checks on voters as they waited in line to cast their ballots.

Dramane Camara, 31, was the first to vote at a polling station in the capital Bamako.

“I voted without problem, I came to fulfil my duty as a citizen,” Camara said.

“I expect the new president to solve the problem of the north. The return of peace means the return of NGOs, investors, so creating jobs.”

The chaotic first round was a reminder that militants, some linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State, have regrouped since French troops intervened in 2013 to push them back.

They are expanding their influence across Mali’s desert north and into the fertile centre. Their presence in the nation and ability to spread violence to its neighbours has kept Mali high on the list of western powers’ security concerns. Former colonial ruler France and the US have deployed thousands of troops across the region.

The 73-year-old Keita urged people not respond to any provocation as he voted in Bamako on Sunday. “I pledge that all the difficulties we faced are now behind us,” he told supporters.

The government has stepped up security for the run-off, deploying an extra 6,000 troops on top of the 30,000 already on duty. Mopti region in central Mali, where most of the attacks in the first round took place, is a particular concern.

Keita, who is seeking a second five-year term, took 41% of the vote in July’s first round against nearly 18% for Soumalia Cisse, 68, a former finance minister and opposition leader. Cisse, who lost against Keita in a 2013 run-off, subsequently accused Keita’s government of voting fraud but the constitutional court upheld the result.

Cisse blames Keita for the worsening violence and accuses his government of corruption. Website Malilink recorded 932 militant attacks in the first half of 2018, double that for all of 2017.

Jihadists are stoking conflict between herders and pastoralists. Killings along ethnic lines have claimed hundreds of civilian lives in 2018, including 11 last week in Mopti region.