Counting to begin as Mali completes voting in presidential run-off

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

MALI was due to start counting ballot papers after voting for a presidential runoff was completed over the weekend, mostly peacefully, said Bloomberg News.

“All stations were staffed, the electoral material was sufficient, and ballot boxes were correctly sealed,” Cecile Kyenge, head of the European Union’s (EU’s) observer mission, told reporters. The EU had observers posted at 300 of about 23,000 polling stations, said Bloomberg News.

Mali is home to large gold resources and has been the focus of Randgold Resources’ mining efforts for more than 20 years along with a host of other operators.

The run-off is to decide whether President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita should win a second five-year mandate after securing 41% of the votes in the first round on July 29. His main opponent, 68-year-old Soumaila Cisse, got 18% of ballots cast in the initial race and hasn’t been successful in uniting a fractured opposition to back him, said Bloomberg News.