Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 13 august 2018

Malians vote in presidential runoff amid attacks, threats

By BABA AHMED sible.
Associated Press On Saturday, the opposi-
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Ma- tion organized a march “to
lians voted Sunday in a warn against the fraud.”
runoff presidential election Issa Namory Keita, a
to determine if incumbent 57-year-old retiree, said he
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita would vote for the incum-
will remain in office in this bent, Keita.
sprawling West African “Unlike his challenger,
nation threatened by ris- my candidate knows the
ing extremist violence. He country well and it is he
faced off against opposi- who has the solution to the
tion leader Soumaila Cisse. problems,” he said.
Sunday’s polls had low turn- Another voter who was un-
out by closing amid attacks related but with the same
and threats of violence by family name, Fanta Keita,
Islamic extremists. said she will also vote for
The chairman of Arkodia the current president.
village in the north Niafun- “He is a man who loves his
ke commune in Timbuktu country, he is a worker who
region was killed, four elec- has opened several devel-
tion workers were physically opment sites and I hope
harassed and the polling he continues his work,” she
station there was burned, said. Voter turnout trickled
according to the Citizen Malian incumbent President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, wait to casts his ballot during the Presidential throughout the day and it
Observation Pool of Mali second round election in Bamako, Mali, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. expected to remain low.
which had more than 2,000 Associated Press Some people have fled
observers. The organization In the July 29 first-round tants are present. Deadly in our hearts. areas of violence until the
reported several incidents presidential vote, extremists communal clashes be- Cisse, 68, who placed sec- vote is over.
Sunday. killed three election work- tween ethnic groups and ond in the first round with In central Mali, attacks
Two polling stations were ers and destroyed some accusations of heavy- nearly 18 percent of the have become more fre-
burned in Keltamba and voting materials. handed counterterror op- vote, has blamed Keita for quent amid communal
election officials were Nearly 43 percent of vot- erations have caused even insecurity, violence and clashes as neighbors sus-
harmed by gunmen in ers made it to the polls last deeper tensions and mis- corruption. His opposition pect one another of be-
Ngouma commune in cen- month and at least 671 poll- trust of the state. party also alleges there was ing recruited by extremist
tral Mali, observers said. ing stations were closed. Still, a second term for Kei- voting fraud in July. Cisse groups. Meanwhile, Malian
In north and central Mali Despite the relatively low ta, 73, seems likely. He re- has not received major soldiers in recent months
more than 50 polling sta- turnout officials called the ceived 41.7 percent of the endorsements from failed have been accused of
tions had closed before vote well-conducted. vote in the first round from candidates but does have abuses, including extrajudi-
noon because of the Mali has grown more inse- a field of 24 candidates the backing of a popular cial killings, during counter-
threats by extremists in cure since Keita beat Cisse and has gained endorse- spiritual leader Mohamed terror operations.
those regions, the organi- in a second round election ments from some other Ould Bouye Haidara. On Wednesday, armed
zation said. in 2013. candidates. “This time, I have a good men attacked the Boni
In the polling centers cov- Malian authorities arrested Dressed in his traditional feeling,” Cisse has said. prefecture, according to a
ered by its observers, the three jihadists on Friday white boubou, Keita voted His campaign director Tie- Malian security official who
organization said the par- who said they were prepar- near his home in Bamako bile Drame charged there spoke on condition of ano-
ticipation rate was about ing to carry out an attack on Sunday. were cases of stuffing of nymity because the official
8.1 percent. It said 14.4 per- during the vote in Bamako, “I hope that everyone will ballot boxes in several was not permitted to speak
cent participated in Tim- said Mali army spokesman be very vigilant,” he said, northern locations. Howev- to the press. The armed
buktu, and only 4.8 percent Col. Idrissa Traore on Sun- saying that any suspected er the constitutional court men killed the prefect’s
in Bamako. day. attempts at fraud should on Wednesday said it has secretary.
However, their observers Extremists are staging more be reported to police. “Ul- registered more than 10 Malian authorities have
did not cover all voting ar- bold attacks that have timately this election must requests from the opposi- tried to reassure the public
eas, and the election com- spread to central Mali, end as it should, with the tion over various anomalies and encourage them to go
mission hasn’t yet given its where both Islamic State celebration of democracy in the first round, but most to the polls for the second
estimate of voter turnout. and al-Qaida-linked mili- ... This is what we hope for were declared inadmis- round.q