Electoral officials sort out ballot papers at the end of the Presidential elections in Bamako Mali, Sunday, July 29, 2018. Voting started slowly Sunday as people in Mali head to the polls to vote for a president amid increasing attacks by a number of extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization. (AP Photo/Baba Ahmed)
Republished July 30, 2018 - 7:49 AM
Original Publication Date July 30, 2018 - 6:51 AM
BAMAKO, Mali - More than 700 polling stations across Mali were not able to operate in Sunday's elections, which took place under the threat of attack by extremists, the government said Monday.
The vote elsewhere was carried out under "satisfactory conditions," the government said. No voting results have been announced; results are expected within the week.
It was not yet clear how many of the West African nation's 8 million registered voters took part in the election in which 73-year-old President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita seeks a second five-year term.
If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent, a second round is Aug. 12.
The 716 stations that did not operate represent just over 3 per cent of the country's total. Al-Qaida's Mali branch had warned voters against going to the polls.
"There were security incidents but they weren't major and didn't affect the credibility of the elections," said Gilles Yabi with the Senegal-based think-tank Wathi, saying Mali in general has lower voter participation than other countries in the region.
Extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization roam Mali's north and have pushed into the central part of the country in recent months, targeting Malian and French troops and other high-profile targets including the headquarters of a new regional counterterror force.
Keita's main challenger is 68-year-old Soumaila Cisse, his rival in 2013, who has criticized the president for not addressing Mali's rising insecurity.
No polling stations opened in some of central Mali's ethnic Fulani villages under the control of jihadists. The region has been troubled by deadly communal clashes between ethnic groups amid suspicions of villagers being recruited by extremist groups.
Meanwhile, a more assertive response by Mali's security forces to recent attacks has led to accusations by human rights groups of extrajudicial killings.
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