2018 Malian presidential election explained

Country:Mali
Type:presidential
Previous Election:2013 Malian presidential election
Previous Year:2013
Election Date:29 July 2018 (first round)
12 August 2018 (second round)
Next Election:2024 Malian presidential election
Next Year:2024
Turnout:42.70% (first round)
34.42% (second round)
Image1:Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta par Claude Truong-Ngoc décembre 2013 (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Party1:Rally for Mali
Popular Vote1:1,791,926
Percentage1:67.16%
Nominee2:Soumaïla Cissé
Party2:Union for the Republic and Democracy
Popular Vote2:876,124
Percentage2:32.84%
President
Before Election:Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Before Party:Rally for Mali
Posttitle:President-elect
After Election:Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
After Party:Rally for Mali

Presidential elections were held in Mali on 29 July 2018.[1] [2] In July 2018, the Constitutional Court approved the nomination of 24 candidates for the election.[3] As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff was held on 12 August 2018 between the top two candidates, incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of the Rally for Mali and Soumaïla Cissé of the Union for the Republic and Democracy. Keïta was subsequently re-elected with 67% of the vote. It was the first time in Malian history that a presidential election was forced into a runoff between an incumbent and a challenger.

Background

In accordance with the 1992 constitution, presidential elections are held every five years. The previous elections, initially scheduled for 13 May 2012, were delayed until 28 July 2013 due to the 2012 coup d'état that overthrew President Amadou Toumani Toure.

A peace deal between Tuareg separatists and the government was signed in 2015 following negotiations through a diplomatic channel extended by the Malian government. The creation of the Macina Liberation Front in 2015, led by the preacher Amadou Koufa, has led to increased ethnic tensions and violence in the country.[4]

There has been little or no violence in Mali's past elections which have in previous years been conducted with no protests.[5]

Electoral system

See main article: Elections in Mali. The President of Mali is elected by absolute majority vote using the two-round system to serve a 5-year term.

Pre-election

There was doubt as to the safety of the elections to be held and of the governments' ability to hold them.[6] If held, the French diplomat Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said that "the upcoming presidential elections will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the stabilization of Mali".[7]

Voter registration

As of July 24, there were 8,461,000 registered voters set to cast their vote 23,041 polling stations.[8]

Of the Malian refugees living in Mbera, Mauritania, 7,000 people registered to vote in the elections.[9]

Candidates

There were 17 confirmed candidates and 13 more were pending as of late June.[10] In the end, on July 5, the Constitutional Court approved the nomination of a total of 24 candidates in the election.[11] Some of them include:[3]

CandidateParty
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta[12] [13] [14] (incumbent)Rally for Mali
Mohamed Ali Bathily
Soumaïla Cissé
Modibo Kone
Choguel Kokala Maïga
Moussa Mara[15] [16]
Oumar Mariko[17] African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence
Djeneba N’Diaye
Yeah Samake[18] Party for Civic and Patriotic Action
Harouna Sankaré
Kalifa Sanogo[19] [20] [21] Alliance for Democracy in Mali
Moussa Sinko Coulibaly
Cheick Mohamed Abdoulaye Souad
Hamadoun Toure
Mountaga Tall

Protests and violence

On 6 June, thousands gathered in the capital Bamako to protest against Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.[22]

On 25 July, following a robbery at a pharmacy, protesters "burned tyres and torched vehicles" in Timbuktu in response to the deepening insecurity and alleged mistreatment by police. This precipitated a violent clash the following day involving about 100 people.[23]

On 31 July, gunmen attacked a convoy carrying election materials in the Ségou Region. This attack and the subsequent shootout killed four soldiers and eight attackers.[24]

Notes and References

  1. News: Everything you need to know about Mali 2018 presidential election. Mumbere. Daniel. 10 July 2018. Africanews.com. 28 July 2018. en.
  2. Web site: Mali : Élection présidentielle 2018 : Le premier tour aura lieu le dimanche 29 juillet. 12 February 2018. maliactu.net. https://web.archive.org/web/20180212142217/http://maliactu.net/mali-election-presidentielle-2018-le-premier-tour-aura-lieu-le-dimanche-29-juillet/. 12 February 2018. 17 April 2018.
  3. News: Daniel. Mumbere . Mali's 2018 presidential poll: meet the 24 contenders . . 2018-07-26 . 2019-03-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190320022746/https://www.africanews.com/2018/07/26/mali-s-2018-presidential-poll-the-top-seven-contenders// . 2019-03-20 . live.
  4. News: As presidential vote nears, violence in central Mali goes overlooked - France 24. 2018-07-27. France 24. 2018-07-28. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180728024029/http://www.france24.com/en/20180727-mali-central-security-islamist-militants-inter-ethnic-violence-presidential-election. 2018-07-28. dead.
  5. News: Third candidate claims place in Mali election run-off. Cocks. Tim. July 31, 2018. Reuters. 1 August 2018. Diallo. Tiemoko. en-US.
  6. News: Mali’s problems are much bigger than July’s presidential election. Dakono. Baba. 26 March 2018. Institute For Security Studies. 17 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180330173324/https://issafrica.org/iss-today/malis-problems-are-much-bigger-than-julys-presidential-election. 30 March 2018. Maïga. Khadija.
  7. Web site: Amid Growing Insecurity, Parties to Mali Peace Accord Must Increase Efforts towards Restoring Stability, Peacekeeping Chief Tells Security Council. 23 January 2018. un.org. 17 April 2018.
  8. Web site: Mali elections 2018: Why presidential vote matters. www.aljazeera.com. 2018-07-28.
  9. Web site: Mali elections marred by rocket attacks, violence. 29 July 2018. Deutsche Welle. en. 1 August 2018.
  10. News: 24 candidates get go ahead in Mali election. 2018-07-05. News 24. July 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190224052636/https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/24-candidates-get-go-ahead-in-mali-election-20180704. February 24, 2019. dead.
  11. Web site: Mali's president to face 23 contenders in July 29 vote. 27 July 2018. Deutsche Welle. en. 1 August 2018.
  12. Web site: The eight African elections to watch out for in 2018. Dahir. Abdi Latif. 2 January 2018. qz.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20180304174921/https://qz.com/1169321/eight-african-2018-elections-to-watch-egypt-sierra-leone-south-sudan-mali-zimbabwe-libya-cameroon-dr-congo/. 4 March 2018. 17 April 2018.
  13. News: Mali shocked by resignation of prime minister. 29 Dec 2017. The Guardian. 17 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180412235638/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/29/mali-shocked-by-resignation-of-prime-minister. 12 April 2018.
  14. News: Eight African countries likely to get new presidents in 2018. Akwei. Ismail. 15 January 2018. Face 2 Face Africa. 17 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180417203335/https://face2faceafrica.com/article/eight-african-countries-likely-get-new-presidents-2018. 17 April 2018.
  15. News: Mali: Moussa Mara annonce sa candidature à la prochaine élection présidentielle. 10 April 2018. RFI Afrique. 17 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180417111608/http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20180410-mali-moussa-mara-annonce-candidature-presidentielle. 17 April 2018.
  16. Web site: Moussa Mara presidential candidacy for 2018 Mali elections: List of promises and video. 10 Apr 2018. probonomatters.co. https://web.archive.org/web/20180417201848/https://probonomatters.co.za/2018/04/moussa-mara-presidential-candidacy-for-2018-mali-elections-list-of-promises-and-video/. 17 April 2018. 17 April 2018.
  17. News: Sangare . Alpha Sidiki . Présidentielle de 2018 : Le Parti SADI investit Oumar Mariko, candidat du changement . 3 June 2018 . 31 May 2018.
  18. News: BYU grad, former Utah resident running for President of Mali, West Africa.
  19. News: Elections offer faint hope for stability. Maina. Wachira. 5 March 2018. Daily Monitor. 17 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180305031008/http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Elections-offer-faint-hope-stability/689844-4327112-5n73krz/index.html. 5 March 2018.
  20. News: Bank official, tech exec announce Mali presidential bids. 11 January 2018. News24. 17 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180228185646/https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/bank-official-tech-exec-announce-mali-presidential-bids-20180110. 28 February 2018.
  21. News: Army general joins race to challenge Mali’s president in 2018. 4 December 2017. The Independent. 17 April 2018.
  22. News: Thousands of Malians march against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Oteng. Eric. June 8, 2018. Africanews.com. 2018-07-28. en.
  23. Web site: Clashes rock Timbuktu as Malian election looms. www.enca.com. en. 2018-07-28. 2018-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20180728101135/https://www.enca.com/africa/clashes-rock-timbuktu-as-malian-election-looms. dead.
  24. News: Deadly attack on Mali election convoy . AAP . 1 August 2018 . 2 August 2018.

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