Bamako — Vote counting was under way across Mali on Monday after a tense presidential runoff marked by violence, polling station closures and low turnout. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 73, is the clear frontrunner in a reprise of his faceoff against former finance minister Soumaila Cisse, 68. In a reminder of the jihadist threat that was a major campaign issue, the overseer of a polling station in Arkodia, in the northern region of Timbuktu, was shot dead by armed Islamist militants, local officials said. On the eve of voting, authorities said they had disrupted a plot to carry out "targeted attacks" in the capital Bamako. More than a hundred other stations in the restive north and centre were closed by security fears, according to local monitors POCIM (the Mali Citizen Observation Pool), which had more than 2,000 observers deployed around the country. The closure figure compares with a total of 23,000 polling stations nationwide and several hundred closures in the first round. ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.