Mali’s presidential election goes to second round

Malian politicians Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Soumaila Cisse will face off in their country’s second round of presidential election on August 11, following the failure of the rivals to secure a majority in the first round.

Official figures indicated that former Malian Prime Minister Keita won nearly 40 percent of the vote, while his main rival Cisse garnered 19.4 percent.

Cisse, a former finance minister, has accused the government of allowing fraud after Mali’s Interior Ministry said over 400,000 ballot papers had been spoiled out of the roughly 3.5 million votes cast.

“In preparation for the second round, I urge the government of Mali and its partners to take strict measures to ensure a clean and clear expression of the will of the people,” he told a media conference in the capital, Bamako.

The 63-year-old added that “thousands, or even tens of thousands” of the voters could not find their names on voting lists, or even the correct polling station.

The first round of the voting was held under heavy security measures on July 28. However, no major violence was reported as polling stations closed 10 hours later.

Voters could choose from 27 candidates, following a recent French-led war and months of political tensions in the West African country. France launched the war on Mali on January 11, under the pretext of halting the advance of rebel fighters in the country.

After the voting ended, the European Union’s top observer said around 50 percent of those eligible to vote had participated in the election. The official turnout was recorded at 51.5 percent.