Mali’s President, Ex-Finance Minister to Contest Runoff Vote

BAMAKO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and a former finance minister will contest a runoff vote in the country’s presidential elections after no candidate secured a majority in the first round.

Keita secured 41.4 percent of ballots cast in the July 29 election and his main opponent, Soumaila Cisse, obtained 17.8 percent, the Ministry of Territorial Administration said in a statement on Thursday. Turnout was 43 percent of the more than 8 million registered voters, according to the ministry.

The Constitutional Court has three days to validate the results, before a runoff is held on Aug. 12.

Second Term
The 73-year-old Keita is seeking a second term after winning by a landslide in 2013, months after a French military intervention pushed back Tuareg separatists and Islamist insurgents who had seized the north of the country. Five years on, a French military force that hunts down jihadists in the region hasn’t been able to stop al-Qaeda-affiliated militants from killing scores of United Nations peacekeepers and Malian troops.

Read more: As Islamist insurgency deepens, Mali leader seeks new term

Cisse, 68, an ex-president of the West African Monetary Union Commission, has managed to form a coalition with opposition politicians and tried to attract young voters with the support of a well-known youth activist. Twenty two other presidential candidates vied in the election.

Source: Bloomberg Business News