Keita and Cisse face off in Mali presidential election runoff
Two candidates made large gains in Mali's July 28 polls, but neither has won a majority. Polls have now reopened in a runoff vote that Malians hope will produce a president who can lead the country away from turmoil.
The ballot in Sunday's presidential election sharply reduces voters' choice from the original 27 candidates to only two frontrunners: former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (pictured above, left), and former Finance Minister, Soumaila Cisse (pictured above, right). Ex-Prime Minister Keita is favored to win in the runoff vote on Sunday. Not only did he capture roughly 40 percent of the vote late last month, but he has also gained the backing of Mali's religious leaders and military. In the days leading up to the final stage of the election, Keita pledged to move the country toward a peaceful resolution with separatist groups in the country's north. "My first priority would be the reconciliation of the country ... after the trauma that it has suffered, a new start is needed," Keita told supporters at a speech last week, adding that they should give him a "clear and clean majority." Although Mali's largest political party, ADEMA, has endorsed Cisse, the former finance minister won only 20 percent of the vote in the late-July election. However, he expressed confidence in his chances to win the presidency while speaking to the news agency AFP. "It is not about adding to the votes from the first round. There will be new votes, it is a new election. Everything restarts from zero," Cisse told AFP. Voters hope the country's new president can help restabilize the government and protect them from further violence from northern separatists. An interim government and 12,600-strong UN peacekeeping mission now oversee the country. Unrest began in early 2012 with a military coup which led to the ouster of then President Amadou Toumani Toure. The weakened state allowed the Tuareg separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) to gain control in the country's north. Al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups helping the ethnic separatist group gradually exercised their own influence over the region and imposed an extreme version of Islamic law. In January, the government in Bamako asked France to lead a military intervention to halt a rebel-led march toward the capital city. Thousands more troops, mainly from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) joined the effort. The UN deployed a 12,600 peacekeeping force to Mali at the beginning of July. A successful vote on Sunday should allow the new government to unlock 4 billion euros ($5.34 billion) needed to help re-stabilize Mali. Mali wants a strong leader Keita has run on the campaign slogan of returning honor to Mali. His popularity stems from his reputation as a firm leader who has political experience as a prime minister, finance minister and speaker of the National Assembly. "He has this reputation as somebody who is strict. He doesn't shy away from a fight," Mali expert Bruce Whitehouse, who teaches at the Lehigh University in the US state of Pennsylvania, told the Associate Press news agency. "He's this sort of old-school politician who knows how to get things done, and knows how to build alliances. I don't think anybody sees him as any kind of visionary or innovator but he may just be the sort of man who can hold things together in some basic way," said Whitehouse. Both Keita and Cisse ran against the last president, Amadou Toumani Toure, in 2002. Five years later, Keita attempted to oust the incumbent president again, but only gained 19 percent of the vote. The latest delay in forming a government signals hope for the country's future, according to a Malian journalist. "The fact that there's a runoff vote is a victory for democracy in Mali," the journalist Ramata Diaore told the news agency DPA. "It shows that religious leaders and the armed forces ... didn't succeed in pushing through their preferred candidate, Keita. Now everything is up in the air," Diaore said. The new president will face the task of reaching an agreement with the MLNA and allied groups in the north who want autonomy from Bamako. Earlier this week, the MLNA signed an agreement with Tuareg and related umbrella groups to work together for more independence from the Malian government. kms/lw (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Keita
Naby_Keïta Keita_Baldé Abdul_Kader_Keïta Keita,_Niger Salif_Keita_(Senegalese_footballer) Keita_dynasty Ladji_Keita Keita_Department Lead_(band) Seydou_Keita Alhassane_Keita_(footballer,_born_1992) Naman_Keïta Brahima_Keita Sidi_Yaya_Keita Salif_Keïta_(Malian_footballer) Modibo_Keïta
Cisse
Djibril_Cissé Kalifa_Cissé Cissé,_Vienne Ousseynou_Cissé Karamoko_Cissé Édouard_Cissé Cisse_(river) Abdoulaye_Cissé Sekou_Cissé Cisse,_Poland Cisse Amadou_Cissé
Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
July 28
Malians
Sunday
Prime Minister
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
Ibrahim_Boubacar_Keïta
Finance Minister
Soumaila Cisse
Soumaïla_Cissé
Prime Minister
Keita
Naby_Keïta Keita_Baldé Abdul_Kader_Keïta Keita,_Niger Salif_Keita_(Senegalese_footballer) Keita_dynasty Ladji_Keita Keita_Department Lead_(band) Seydou_Keita Alhassane_Keita_(footballer,_born_1992) Naman_Keïta Brahima_Keita Sidi_Yaya_Keita Salif_Keïta_(Malian_footballer) Modibo_Keïta
Sunday
Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
Keita
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Keita
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Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
ADEMA
Adema Adema_(album) Alliance_for_Democracy_in_Mali AS_Adema
Cisse
Djibril_Cissé Kalifa_Cissé Cissé,_Vienne Ousseynou_Cissé Karamoko_Cissé Édouard_Cissé Cisse_(river) Abdoulaye_Cissé Sekou_Cissé Cisse,_Poland Cisse Amadou_Cissé
July
news agency
AFP
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Cisse
Djibril_Cissé Kalifa_Cissé Cissé,_Vienne Ousseynou_Cissé Karamoko_Cissé Édouard_Cissé Cisse_(river) Abdoulaye_Cissé Sekou_Cissé Cisse,_Poland Cisse Amadou_Cissé
AFP
Associação_Fonográfica_Portuguesa Agence_France-Presse Australia_First_Party Armed_Forces_of_the_Philippines Apple_Filing_Protocol Australian_Federal_Police Alpha-fetoprotein Advanced_Function_Presentation AFP_(TV_series) Alliance_of_the_Forces_of_Progress_(Senegal) Philippine_Army Americans_for_Prosperity American_Free_Press Marinefährprahm Tapei_language AFP
UN
United_Nations UN_(band) Un_(album) United_Nations_Command U.N._(group) Union_Nationale_(Quebec) National_Unity_(Peru) UN_(album) National_Union_(Spain) Parti_Unité_Nationale United_Nations_Interim_Administration_Mission_in_Kosovo United_Nations_System Peacekeeping United_Nations_Mission_in_Sierra_Leone Headquarters_of_the_United_Nations United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1874
2012
President
Amadou Toumani Toure
Amadou_Toumani_Touré
Tuareg
Tuareg_people Tuareg_languages Tuareg_(novel) Tuareg_rebellion_(2012) Berbers Tuareg_Shield Ikelan Air_Tamajeq_language Tamahaq_language Berber_music
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
National_Movement_for_the_Liberation_of_Azawad
MNLA
National_Movement_for_the_Liberation_of_Azawad Malayan_Races_Liberation_Army
Al Qaeda
Al-Qaeda Tanzim_Qaidat_al-Jihad_fi_Bilad_al-Rafidayn Al-Qaeda_in_the_Arabian_Peninsula Al-Qaeda_in_the_Islamic_Maghreb Al-Qaeda_in_the_Indian_Subcontinent Islamic_Jihad_of_Yemen Al-Nusra_Front Internal_conflict_in_Azawad Al-Qaeda_involvement_in_Africa Al-Qaeda_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina
Islamist
Islamic
January
Bamako
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France
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Economic Community of West African States
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ECOWAS
Economic_Community_of_West_African_States
UN
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Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
July
Sunday
4 billion euros
$5.34 billion
Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
leader
Keita
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Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
National Assembly
National_Assembly_(France) National_Assembly_of_Pakistan National_Assembly_(South_Korea) National_Assembly_of_South_Africa National_Assembly_(Republic_of_China) National_Assembly_(French_Revolution) National_Assembly National_Assembly_(Venezuela) National_Assembly_of_Quebec National_Assembly_(Hungary) National_Assembly_of_Zambia National_Assembly_(Tanzania) National_Assembly_(Serbia) National_Assembly_(Bulgaria) National_Assembly_(Slovenia) National_Assembly_(Second_Philippine_Republic)
Mali
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expert
Bruce Whitehouse
Lehigh University
Lehigh_University Lehigh_Mountain_Hawks Lehigh_Mountain_Hawks_football Lehigh_Mountain_Hawks_men's_lacrosse Lehigh_Mountain_Hawks_men's_basketball
US
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Pennsylvania
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Associate Press
AP_Poll
Whitehouse
Whitehouse_(band) Frank_Whitehouse Whitehouse,_Texas Whitehouse,_Ohio Dane_Whitehouse Whitehouse,_New_Jersey Jackie_Whitehouse Jack_Whitehouse Whitehouse,_Argyll B.B._Whitehouse Gillis_Centre J._Howard_Whitehouse White_House,_Jamaica Sheldon_Whitehouse Whitehouse,_FL Whitehouse_railway_station
Keita
Naby_Keïta Keita_Baldé Abdul_Kader_Keïta Keita,_Niger Salif_Keita_(Senegalese_footballer) Keita_dynasty Ladji_Keita Keita_Department Lead_(band) Seydou_Keita Alhassane_Keita_(footballer,_born_1992) Naman_Keïta Brahima_Keita Sidi_Yaya_Keita Salif_Keïta_(Malian_footballer) Modibo_Keïta
Cisse
Djibril_Cissé Kalifa_Cissé Cissé,_Vienne Ousseynou_Cissé Karamoko_Cissé Édouard_Cissé Cisse_(river) Abdoulaye_Cissé Sekou_Cissé Cisse,_Poland Cisse Amadou_Cissé
Amadou Toumani Toure
Amadou_Toumani_Touré
2002
Keita
Naby_Keïta Keita_Baldé Abdul_Kader_Keïta Keita,_Niger Salif_Keita_(Senegalese_footballer) Keita_dynasty Ladji_Keita Keita_Department Lead_(band) Seydou_Keita Alhassane_Keita_(footballer,_born_1992) Naman_Keïta Brahima_Keita Sidi_Yaya_Keita Salif_Keïta_(Malian_footballer) Modibo_Keïta
Malian
Mali
Mali Mali_national_football_team Malian_Football_Federation Mali_(GPU) Mali_women's_national_football_team Mali_Empire Mali_national_basketball_team Mali_caste Mali_national_under-17_football_team Mali_national_under-20_football_team Military_of_Mali Mali_(TV_series) Elections_in_Mali Music_of_Mali European_Union_Training_Mission_in_Mali LGBT_rights_in_Mali
journalist
Ramata Diaore
news agency
DPA
Deutsche_Presse-Agentur Democratic_Party_of_Albanians DPA_Microphones Doctor_of_Public_Administration Democratic_Party_of_Albania Democratic_Party_of_Artsakh United_Nations_Department_of_Political_Affairs Drug_Policy_Alliance Democratic_Progressive_Alliance National_data_protection_authority Defence_Procurement_Agency Dayton_Agreement DPA Docosapentaenoic_acid 9,10-Diphenylanthracene Hexanitrodiphenylamine
candidate
Keita
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Diaore
MLNA
Bamako
Bamako Bamako_(film) Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Bamako Bamako–Sénou_International_Airport Bamako,_Comoé Stade_du_26_Mars Bamako,_Bougouriba
MLNA
Tuareg
Tuareg_people Tuareg_languages Tuareg_(novel) Tuareg_rebellion_(2012) Berbers Tuareg_Shield Ikelan Air_Tamajeq_language Tamahaq_language Berber_music
Malian
kms/lw (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Mali
Mali
slot::in slot::keyword topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
Ibrahim_Boubacar_Keïta
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Soumaila Cisse
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ADEMA
Alliance_for_Democracy_in_Mali
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National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
National_Movement_for_the_Liberation_of_Azawad
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Economic Community of West African States
Economic_Community_of_West_African_States
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Ramata Diaore
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Bruce Whitehouse
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July 28
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Malians
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Finance Minister
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Amadou Toumani Toure
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Bamako
Bamako
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France
France
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4 billion euros
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$5.34 billion
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leader
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Pennsylvania
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Associate Press
Associated_Press
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2002
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Malian
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DPA
Deutsche_Presse-Agentur
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
candidate
topic::none type::role type::value
kms/lw (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
topic::none type::footer type::other
Malia
Germany