Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, winner of the second round of the Presidential election in Mali
Bamako, Mali – ECOWAS has declared Mali’s presidential runoff on Sunday as ‘free, transparent and credible’, despite what it called some constraints.
”The standards observed in the first round of the Presidential election in Mali were maintained, and even improved in several areas, in the conduct of the runoff,” according to the preliminary report by the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM) that monitored the runoff.
”The Mission will closely monitor the concluding phases of the process, and make any further pronouncements it may deem fit,” it said.
The EOM said while the turnout started slowly in some areas, it later picked up, especially concerning women and the youth, while noting that security was adequate and unobtrusive.
The Mission, headed by former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, urged the two candidates involved in the runoff to accept the results and to use only the legal means to resolve any litigation.
It urged the in-coming President to work closely with the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders to complete the electoral cycle and the transition, by expediting action on the holding of the legislative elections.
The EOM also urged the Electoral Management Bodies to ”take steps to further enhance the electoral process through capacity building and standardization of the process, take initiatives to enhance the level of sensitisation of voters and produce electoral registers by alphabetical order.
The first round of the elections was held on 28 July, but no candidate got the required majority.
PANA reports that the runoff was held between Ibrahim Boubakar Keita, who scored 39.79 percent of the vote, and the runner-up, Soumaïla Cissé, with 19.70 percent.
Source: Pana – Photo:
