According to a provisional vote count in Mali’s July 29 presidential elections, a spokesman for the President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita is leading in the results.
Mahamadou Camara spoke to the press earlier, saying ”According to our tally, IBK (Ibrahim Boubakar Keita) has come substantially ahead” but he wasn’t too convinced of the incumbent winning the vote outright to avoid a runoff as required by law.
The Incumbent President of Mali IBK is one of the twenty-four contenders vying for the highest political office of the West African country. He is seeking a second and last term as president. The run-off is expected to be held on August 12 in case a first-round victory isn’t clinched.
Reports by the local media are indicating that Opposition candidate has denounced result tallies while calling for a recount of some of the ballots.
The campaign director for the main opposition candidate Soumaila Cisse, Tiebile Drame told the press ”We are already disputing the results and asking for…recount”. Five years ago, Keita defeated his challenger Cisse at the run-off to secure the presidency.
Some 8.4 million Malians were eligible to cast their ballots across the regions. Apart from suspected militant attacks in some areas, the voting process was largely peaceful according to international observers.
Neba Benson,
BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst
