2013 Malian presidential election

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2013 Malian presidential election

← 2007 28 July and 11 August 2013
  Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Nominee Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta Soumaïla Cissé
Party RPM URD
Popular vote 2,354,693 679,258
Percentage 77.61% 22.39%

President before election

Dioncounda Traoré
ADEMA-PASJ

President-elect

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
RPM

Presidential elections were held in Mali on 28 July 2013, with a second round run-off held on 11 August.[1] Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta defeated Soumaïla Cissé in the run-off to become the new President of Mali.

Background

According to the 1992 constitution, elections should have taken place in 2012. The first round was originally scheduled for 29 April, and the second round scheduled for 13 May. The first round was also planned to include a referendum on revising the constitution.[2]

The elections would have marked the end of the second term of office of President Amadou Toumani Touré, conforming to the Malian constitution which limits individuals to two presidential terms. Touré confirmed, at a press conference on 12 June 2011, that he would not stand for election again.[3]

Insurgency and coup d'etat

In 2012, Tuareg and other peoples in northern Mali's Azawad region started an insurgency in the north under the banner of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. The Malian Army complained that it was ill-equipped to fight the insurgents, who had benefited from an influx of heavy weaponry from the 2011 Libyan civil war as well as other sources. On 21 March 2012 elements of the army staged a military coup d'état and formed the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State. The scheduled elections were then called into question after coup leaders suspended the constitution and arrested government ministers, while promising that, at some time in the future, elections would be held to return governance to civilian control.[4] Following the coup, the rebels made further advances to capture the three biggest cities in the north. On 1 April 2012, under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the leader of the junta Captain Amadou Sanogo announced that the constitution would be restored.[5]

Following economic sanctions and a blockade by ECOWAS on the country, a deal brokered in Burkina Faso by President Blaise Compaoré under the auspices of ECOWAS, was signed that saw Sanogo cede power to Dioncounda Traoré to assume the presidency in an interim capacity until the election was held.[6]

On 1 July 2013, 6,000 of a future total of 12,600 UN peacekeeping troops officially took over responsibility for patrolling the country's north from France and the ECOWAS' International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA). The force would be led by former second-in-command in Darfur, Rwandan General Jean Bosco Kazura, and will be known as the MINUSMA. Though the group was expected to play a role in the election, the electoral commission's president, Mamadou Diamountani, said it would be "extremely difficult" to arrange for up to eight million voting identification cards when there were 500,000 displaced people as a result of the conflict.[7]

Electoral organisation controversies

To improve the electoral process, the government decided to use the election process of the Administrative Census to Elections (RACE) to further direct the Minister of Territorial Administration and Local Government and the General Administrator of Elections, General Kafougona Kone.[8] The majority of political parties would prefer the use of another electoral system under the Administrative Census Vocation of Civil Status (RAVEC), an electoral process considered more reliable. However, the government considers that this second process with RAVEC presents a number of difficulties with identification of non-Malians living in the Côte d'Ivoire and there are a large number of corrections to be made in a very short time.[9]

The cost of using this other process is estimated at 41 billion francs CFA (nearly $83 million US dollars).[10] At a meeting between the government and political parties on 3 January 2012, the National Director of the Interior, to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Local Government, Bassidi Coulibaly, acknowledged the weak influence of citizens for revision of the electoral lists.[11]

Just as campaigning was about to get under way, the Malian government lifted the state of emergency in place in the country since the northern battles.[12]

Although the jihadist group MUJAO warned people not to vote and threatened to attack polling stations, no violence occurred during the elections. [13]

Candidates

Several candidates declared their intention to run for the original elections or were invested by their party.

  • Jamille Bittar, senior vice president of the Party for Economic and Social Development of Mali (PDES), announced his presidential candidacy on 30 January 2012. He is the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and he is on the Economic and Social Council and he is supported by the Union of movements and associations in Mali, created two months ago.[14]
  • Sidibé Aminata Diallo, former Minister of Education, she was previously a candidate in the presidential election of 2007, and was supported for her candidacy on 24 December 2011 by the Rally for Environmental Education and Sustainable Development (REDD).[15]
  • Cheick Modibo Diarra, Malian astrophysicist who worked at NASA and president of Microsoft Africa. On 6 March 2011, in Bamako, he presented a training policy, the Rally for Mali's development (RPDM), created for the 2012 presidential election.[16]
  • Housseini Amion Guindo, President of Convergence for the development of Mali, was appointed on 14 September 2011 as presidential election candidate by the political group PUR (parties united for the Republic).[17]
  • Mamadou Djigué, announced his candidacy on 22 September 2011 under the banner of the Youth Movement for Change and Development (MJCD). This announcement was made at a meeting held at the International Conference Centre of Bamako, in the presence of his father Ibrahima N'Diaye, Senior Vice President of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali-African Party for Solidarity and Justice.[18]
  • Aïchata Cissé Haïdara, nicknamed Chato, is the presidential candidate from the Alliance Chato 2013 for the Malian election on July 28. The party's social and economic program,"For a Strong Mali," focuses on youth, women and the rural world. Currently the MP from Bourem in northern Mali, during the recent Malian crisis Chato distinguished herself in a fight against misinformation from the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, initially a Tuareg secessionist movement). Chato also worked for more than 20 years in the development of Mali in particular and of Africa in general. A union activist, she led a massive battle for Malian workers in Air Afrique; they were the only Africans to have been compensated after the firm was liquidated. Mme Haidara is a founder and managing director of a travel and tourism company, Wani Tour. [original research?]
  • Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, former Prime Minister of Mali, former speaker of the National Assembly, and president of the Rally for Mali (RPM), announced his candidacy on January 14, 2012.[19] He was a presidential candidate in the previous presidential elections of 2002 and 2007. He has the support of fifteen political parties that signed a memorandum of agreement on 12 January 2012 to "create a Republican and Democratic center that is strong and stable". The political parties are: Movement for the Independence, Renaissance and African Integration (Miria), the Union of Mali for Progress (UMP), the Malian Union-African Democratic Rally, the African Front for the mobilization and alternation (Fama), the Rally of Democratic Republicans (RDR), the Rally for Justice in Mali (RJD), Sigikafo Oyédamouyé Party (PSO), the Democratic Consultation, the Party of the difference in Mali (PDM), the Socialist and Democratic Party of Mali (PSDM), the People's Progress Party (PPP), the PPM, the MPLO, the RUP, the Democratic Action for Change and Alternative in Mali (ADCAM) and the Rally for Mali (RPM).[20]
  • Aguibou Koné, former student leader, announced on 25 January 2012 that he would run for president in 2012 to defend the colours of a political organisation called "to Yèlè" (this means "to open" in the national language Bambara).[19][20]
  • Oumar Mariko, Member of Parliament, was supported by the Party African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence on 26 June 2011. He has already been a candidate in the two previous presidential elections in 2002 and 2007. In his program, he wants to "build a strong democratic state, respectful of republican values, and equitable distribution of national resources".[21]
  • Yeah Samake, mayor of the rural town of Ouélessébougou, announced his candidacy for presidency on 12 November 2011 on behalf of the Party for the civic and patriotic (PACP), a new political party.[24] In reaction against alleged corruption of the other candidates, Samake is doing most of his fundraising online and in the United States.[citation needed]
  • Mountaga Tall was selected as a presidential candidate by the National Congress of Democratic Initiative (CNID) on 15 January 2012 in Bamako. The lawyer was a presidential candidate in 1992, 2002, and 2007.[26]

Results

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta Rally for Mali 1,222,657 39.23 2,354,693 77.61
Soumaïla Cissé Union for the Republic and Democracy 605,901 19.44 679,258 22.39
Dramane Dembélé Alliance for Democracy in Mali 298,748 9.59
Modibo Sidibé Alternative Forces for Renewal and Emergence 151,801 4.87
Housseini Amion Guindo Convergence for the Development of Mali 144,336 4.63
Oumar Mariko African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence 74,706 2.40
Choguel Kokalla Maiga Patriotic Movement for Renewal 71,458 2.29
Cheick Modibo Diarra Rally for Development of Mali 64,829 2.08
Jamille Bittar Party for Economic Development and Solidarity 54,530 1.74
Mountaga Tall National Congress for Democratic Initiative 47,405 1.52
Moussa Mara Change Party 46,869 1.50
Mamadou Bakary Sangare Social Democratic Convention 32,951 1.06
Soumana Sacko National Convention for a United Africa 27,210 0.87
Oumar Ibrahim Touré Alliance for the Republic 25,610 0.82
Haïdara Aïchata Alassane Cissé Chato Alliance 2013 23,622 0.76
Yeah Samake Party for Civic and Patriotic Action 17,464 0.56
Hamed Sow Workers' Rally for Development 17,417 0.56
Konimba Sidibe Citizen's Duty Movement 17,217 0.55
Racine Seydou Thiam CAP 16,620 0.53
Ousmane Ben Traoré Citizens' Party for Revival 16,142 0.52
Oumar Boury Touré GAD 16,022 0.51
Cheick Keita Union for Democracy and Alternation 15,156 0.49
Siaka Diarra Union of Democratic Forces 14,749 0.47
Youssouf Cissé Independent 12,859 0.41
Cheick Boucadry Traoré African Convergence for Renewal 9,432 0.30
Sibiri Koumare Synergy of the Initiatives for an African Rebirth 9,169 0.29
Oumar Alhousseini Maiga Panafrik 8,571 0.28
Tiebilé Drame Party for National Rebirth 5,919 0.19
Invalid/blank votes 403,532 92,920
Total 3,520,242 100 3,126,521 100
Registered voters/turnout 6,829,696 51.54 6,829,696 45.78
Source: Government of Mali, (1st round), (2nd round)

References

  1. ^ Mali sets date for presidential election Al Jazeera, 28 May 2013
  2. ^ "Communiqué du Conseil des Ministres". Mali Journal. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  3. ^ Walet, Fadima. "ATT face à la presse : Anniversaire d'investiture, l'heure du bilan".
  4. ^ Voice of America, "Uncertainty Reigns in Mali" Voice of America, 23 March 2012
  5. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Africa/Timbuktu-bombarded-as-Mali-constitution-restored/Article1-833959.aspx
  6. ^ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/04/201246232416740914.html
  7. ^ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/07/20137182846984106.html
  8. ^ "Le processus electoral 2002 au Mali". Programme des Nations Unies pour le developpment. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  9. ^ Jean-Philippe Dedieu, "Mali's Scattered Democracy. How Migrants from Paris to Guangzhou Influence the Vote", Foreign Affairs, 12 August 2013
  10. ^ Diallo, Youssouf. "Fichier électoral- Le gouvernement opte pour le RACE". Mali Web. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Préparatifs des élections générales et référendaire d'avril-juillet prochains : Le Gouvernement fait le point à la classe politique qui reste sceptique". Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  12. ^ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/07/20137692727208742.html
  13. ^ http://www.icct.nl/publications/icct-commentaries/al-qaeda-during-the-elections-in-mali-the-dog-that-did-not-bark-
  14. ^ "Mali: Jamille Bittar candidat à l'élection présidentielle". Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  15. ^ "MALI: Présidentielle 2012 : Aminata Niamoto Diakité dans la course".
  16. ^ "Présidentielle : La candidature de l'ancienne ministre, Mme Sidibé Aminata Diallo déjà rejetée". Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  17. ^ "Mali: l'astrophyscien Cheick Modibo Diarra se lance dans la politique".
  18. ^ Segbedji, Bruno. "Les PUR choisissent Housseini Amion Guindo dit poulo de la CODEM candidat à la présidentielle 2012 : Moussa Mara et ses amis boudent". Mali Web. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  19. ^ a b Diakite, Abdoulaye. "Présidentielle de 2012 : Le fils de Djigué aussi s'engage dans la course". Mali Web. Retrieved 1 March 2012. Cite error: The named reference "Presidentielle de 2012" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b Aguibou, Sogodogo. "Présidentielle 2012 :IBK investi par le Rassemblement pour le Mali". Mali Web. Retrieved 1 March 2012. Cite error: The named reference "Presidentielle 2012" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  21. ^ Sissoko, Issa Fakaba. "Après son investiture par le Parti Sadi : Oumar Mariko dévoile son « engagement pour le Mali". Partisadi. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  22. ^ Lam, Allaye. "Présidentielles 2012 : Achérif Ag Mohamed candidat". Essor. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  23. ^ Groga-Bada, Malika. "Mali : Soumana Sako, un candidat de plus à la présidentielle". Jeuneafrique. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  24. ^ Keïta, Madiba. "Niankoro Yeah Samake, Porte-Drapeau Du PACP". Essor. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  25. ^ Konan, André Silver. "Mali : Modibo Sidibé, enfin candidat". Jeune Afrique. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  26. ^ Diallo, Moussa Samba. "Présidentielle 2012 / Me Mountaga Tall investi". Mali Kounda. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  27. ^ "Mali: Cheick Bougadary Traoré candidat à l'élection présidentielle". Afrique Jet. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  28. ^ "Mali's leading party picks candidate for July presidential poll", Reuters, 10 April 2013.