Malian presidential election, 2007

Mali

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A presidential election was held in Mali on 29 April 2007. President Amadou Toumani Touré ran for re-election against seven other candidates and won in the first round with about 71% of the vote, according to final results.^[1]

Pre-campaign

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the President of the National Assembly, was nominated as the presidential candidate of his party, the Rally for Mali, on January 28, 2007.^[2] On February 18, former Foreign Minister Tiébilé Dramé was nominated as the candidate of the Party for National Rebirth (PARENA),^[3] and on February 24 Oumar Mariko was nominated as the candidate of African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence.^[4] Sidibé Aminata Diallo, a female professor, announced on 12 March that she intended to stand as the candidate of the Rally for Sustainable Education and Development.^[5] The former ruling party, the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA), decided to support the re-election of the incumbent president, Amadou Toumani Touré. Former Defense Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maiga, who was Vice-President of ADEMA, was expelled from ADEMA for opposing this; he intended to run for president himself,^[6][7] and was designated as the candidate of his movement, Convergences 2007, on March 24.^[7] The National Union for the Republic (UNPR) nominated Modibo Sangaré as its candidate on March 26.^[8] President Touré announced his candidacy in the town of Nioro du Sahel on March 27.^[9] On the same day, the Social Democratic Convention nominated Mamadou Blaise Sangaré as its candidate.^[10]

On April 1, the Constitutional Court issued a provisional list of eight candidates who would contest the election: President Touré, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Mamadou Blaise Sangaré, Tiébilé Dramé, Soumeylou Boubèye Maiga, Oumar Mariko, Sidibe Aminata Diallo, and Madiassa Maguiraga.^[11] Modibo Sangaré's candidacy was rejected by the court on the grounds that he had not paid the required bond of 10 million CFA francs.^[12][13] No requests were filed for the invalidation of any of the eight candidates on the provisional list, and therefore the Court confirmed the list as final on April 3.^[11] Six of the eight approved candidates previously ran in the 2002 presidential election; Maiga and Diallo were the exceptions.^[14] Diallo was the first woman to ever run for president in Mali;^[13] a woman had attempted to run in 2002, but her candidacy had been rejected.^[5]

In order to have their candidacies accepted by the court, candidates were required to be sponsored by at least ten members of the National Assembly or at least five communal advisors from each of the country's regions, as well as Bamako, the capital (a minimum of 45 combined).^[12][13] Touré was sponsored by 414 communal advisors, Keïta was sponsored by 17 members of parliament, Mamadou Blaise Sangaré was sponsored by 11 members of parliament, Dramé was sponsored by 87 communal advisors, Maiga was sponsored by 114 communal advisors, Mariko was sponsored by 71 communal advisors, Diallo was sponsored by 14 members of parliament, and Maguiraga was sponsored by 55 communal advisors.^[11] The introduction of sponsors, in addition to an increase in the guarantee that had to be paid, was considered responsible for the significant reduction in the number of candidates from the 2002 election, when there were 24 candidates.^[15]

Voter registration

Voter registration cards began to be distributed in Bamako on March 30.^[16] By April 7, less than 3% of the voter cards had been distributed.^[17] On April 14, the cards were made easier to obtain, but by April 25 less than 50% were thought to have been distributed. The latter date was a public holiday in order to encourage voters to get the cards prior to the deadline at midnight,^[18] after which it was reported that about 63.78% had been distributed. The best rate of distribution was in Mopti Region with 71.7%; it was worst in Bamako, with 30.6%.^[19] The total distribution percentage was subsequently raised to about 66.7%, apparently due to Malians abroad obtaining the cards.^[20]

Campaign

The campaign for the election began on April 8 and continued until midnight on April 27.^[21] Fodié Touré, the head of the electoral commission, said on April 16 that more than a thousand foreign observers had sought permission to monitor the election.^[22] He said later that 900 observers, from Mali and abroad, had been accredited.^[23]

On April 24, the Front for Democracy and the Republic (FDR), a coalition that includes four of the opposition candidates^[24] (Keïta, Dramé, Maiga, and Sangaré^[25]) and 16 parties^[26] sharply criticized the way the election was being prepared. It alleged serious problems with the electoral list, which it said had been manipulated, and criticized the use of fingerprints on ballot papers and the failure to allow the presence of its representatives when the military votes. The coalition said that the election would not be transparent or credible.^[24] On April 28, local government minister Kafougouna Koné denied the accusation that the government manipulated the electoral list, saying that its problems were due to the lack of information available to the government.^[20]

Prior to the election, Touré was considered likely to win; he ran as an independent but was backed by a coalition, the Alliance for Democracy and Progress, composed of 43 parties. Keïta was considered the strongest opposition candidate.^[25] If no candidate won the election on April 29, a second round was scheduled for May 13.^[27]

Post-election

A day after the election, a presidential spokesman claimed victory for Touré, while Keïta's campaign director alleged fraud, and the FDR claimed there were widespread irregularities. Results accounting for 18.2% of registered voters (including many who did not vote) showed Touré with 61.3% of the vote and Keïta as a distant second with 29.8%. In Bamako, Touré won 54.2% and Keïta won 38.8%;^[28] Touré's lead was bigger in rural areas, where he won about 71% against 18% for Keïta. Voter turnout was placed at 24% in Bamako and 38% in the countryside.^[29]

On May 1, the four FDR candidates, rejecting the official results, said that they would try to have the election annulled.^[30][31] In a statement, Keïta's campaign said that it would release different results.^[32] The FDR withdrew from participation in the national commission for the centralization of the results; it objected to the handling of Bamako's results, saying that it had not been included in part of the validation process and that the results had been released without its approval.^[33] Foreign observers, however, endorsed the election as free and fair. Results reported from 28 out of 49 areas showed Touré with 72% of the vote, while Keïta had 15%.^[34] On May 2, results accounting for 51% of registered voters (including many who did not vote) showed Touré still holding a large lead with 58.3% of the vote against 25% for Keïta.^[35]

According to full provisional results announced on May 3, Touré won the election with 68.31% of the vote (1,563,640 out of 2,288,993 votes) and Keïta took second place with 18.59% (425,609 votes). Dramé was in third place with 2.9% of the vote and Mariko was in fourth with 2.7%. Voter turnout was placed at 36.17%, with 2.3 million out of 6.9 million registered voters participating.^[36] On May 4, slightly different results were announced: 70.89% for Touré (1,622,579 votes), 19.08% for Keïta (436,781 votes), 3.04% for Dramé (69,584 votes) 2.74% for Mariko (62,709 votes), 1.57% for Sangaré (35,951 votes), 1.46% for Maïga (33,366 votes), 0.54% for Diallo (12,326 votes), and 0.30% for Maguiraga (6,857 votes).^[37]

Diallo and Maguiraga accepted Touré's victory on May 4.^[1] The FDR, however, continued to call on the Constitutional Court to annul the election, describing it as a farce and rejecting the results.^[38]

Final results were announced by the Constitutional Court on May 12, confirming Touré's victory and slightly raising his score to 71.20%.^[1] On May 19, Keïta said that the FDR would abide by the court's decision^[39] and would focus on the July 2007 parliamentary election. Some observers argued that this concession by the FDR was due to the massive scale of the victory attributed to Touré, which made its own claims appear untenable.^[40]

In a press conference on May 29, Mariko denounced the electoral commission and the Constitutional Court for their handling of the election, saying that the former should be dissolved.^[41] He was also sharply critical of the FDR, in which he did not participate.^[42]

Touré was sworn in for his second term on 8 June 2007.^[43]

Results

e • d Summary of the 29 April 2007 Mali presidential election results

Candidates – Parties		Votes	%
Amadou Toumani Touré	Independent; supported by Alliance for Democracy in Mali	1,612,912	71.20
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta	Rally for Mali	433,897	19.15
Tiébilé Dramé	Party for National Rebirth	68,956	3.04
Oumar Mariko	African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence	61,670	2.72
Mamadou Blaise Sangaré	Social Democratic Convention	35,776	1.58
Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga	Convergences 2007	32,973	1.46
Sidibé Aminata Diallo	Rally for Sustainable Education and Development	12,443	0.55
Madiassa Maguiraga		6,856	0.30
Total (turnout 36.24%)		2,265,483	100.0
Source: Constitutional Court[44]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Mali / Présidentielle: la Cour constitutionnelle valide la réélection de Touré", AFP (Maliweb.net), May 12, 2007 (French).
2. ^ "IBK investi par son parti candidat à l’élection présidentielle prochaine au Mali", African Press Agency, January 28, 2007 (French).
3. ^ "Former Malian student leader poised to contest April presidential elections", African Press Agency, February 19, 2007.
4. ^ "Oumar Mariko investi par son parti à la présidentielle", Panapress (Jeuneafrique.com), February 24, 2007 (French).
5. ^ ^{a b} "Malian woman announces candidacy for presidency", African Press Agency, March 13, 2007.
6. ^ "Soumeylou Boubèye Maiga exclu de l’ADEMA", Panapress (Jeuneafrique.com), February 26, 2007 (French).
7. ^ ^{a b} "Maiga chosen as presidential candidate for Convergences 2007 in Mali", African Press Agency, March 24, 2007.
8. ^ "L'UNPR désigne son candidat à l'élection présidentielle", Panapress (Jeuneafrique.com), March 27, 2007.
9. ^ "ATT annonce sa candidature à l'élection présidentielle d'avril", Panapress (Jeuneafrique.com), March 27, 2007 (French).
10. ^ "Mali : renowned opposition stalwart guns for presidency", African Press Agency, March 28, 2007.
11. ^ ^{a b c} "Présidentielle 2007 : HUIT CANDIDATS CONFIRMÉS", L'Essor, April 4, 2007 (French).
12. ^ ^{a b} "8 for Malian presidency in April election", African Press Agency, April 2, 2007.
13. ^ ^{a b c} "Huit candidats en lice pour l'élection présidentielle", Xinhua (Jeuneafrique.com), April 2, 2007 (French).
14. ^ "Eight candidates to stand in Mali elections", AFP (IOL), April 1, 2007.
15. ^ "La campagne pour la présidentielle s'ouvre dimanche au Mali", AFP (Nettali.net), April 8, 2007 (French).
16. ^ "Distribution of voters’ cards begins Friday in Mali", African Press Agency, March 30, 2007.
17. ^ "Less than 3% of voters’ cards so far distributed in Mali, ministry says", African Press Agency, April 7, 2007.
18. ^ "Malian govt to speed up voters’ card withdrawal, four days before presidential poll", African Press Agency, April 26, 2007.
19. ^ "Malian presidency : only about 64% of voters withdrawn cards", African Press Agency, April 27, 2007.
20. ^ ^{a b} "Malian govt dismisses opposition warnings of vote rigging", African Press Agency, April 28, 2007.
21. ^ "Mali : Court issues final list of 8 presidential contenders", African Press Agency, April 4, 2007.
22. ^ "Hundreds of observers to monitor Mali polls", AFP (IOL), April 16, 2007.
23. ^ "Malian govt inducts presidential poll observers", African Press Agency, April 28, 2007.
24. ^ ^{a b} "Mali : opposition parties foresee an "electoral disaster"", African Press Agency, April 24, 2007.
25. ^ ^{a b} "Présidentielle au Mali: Amadou Toumani Touré brigue un nouveau mandat", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), April 28, 2007 (French).
26. ^ "Forces lined up for 29 April presidential election in Mali", African Press Agency, April 22, 2007.
27. ^ "Mali leader 'set for re-election'", BBC News, April 30, 2007.
28. ^ "Présidentielle au Mali: le camp présidentiel crie victoire, l'opposition dénonce des fraudes", AFP (Maliweb.net), April 30, 2007 (French).
29. ^ Nick Tattersall and Tiemoko Diallo, "Toure on track to win second term in office", Reuters (IOL), April 30, 2007.
30. ^ "Presidential contenders claim for cancellation of last Sunday polls", African Press Agency, May 1, 2007.
31. ^ "Mali: l'opposition conteste la présidentielle sans attendre les résultats", AFP (Maliweb.net), May 1, 2007 (French).
32. ^ "Leading opponent challenges partial results of Malian presidential poll", African Press Agency, May 1, 2007.
33. ^ "Présidentielle au Mali: l'opposition quitte la Commission de décompte des voix", AFP (Maliweb.net), May 1, 2007 (French).
34. ^ Nick Tattersall, "Toure camp claims election win", Reuters (IOL), May 1, 2007.
35. ^ "Mali: Amadou Toumani Touré largement en tête de la présidentielle", AFP (Afriklive.com), May 2, 2007 (French).
36. ^ "Mali: Amadou Toumani Touré réélu à la présidence lors d'un scrutin contesté", AFP (Maliweb.net), May 3, 2007 (French).
37. ^ "Mali : latest counting gives out-going Pres. Touré 70.89%", African Press Agency, May 4, 2007.
38. ^ "Mali opposition seeks poll re-run", BBC News, 4 May 2007.
39. ^ "Mali opposition concedes Toure's re-election", Reuters (IOL), May 21, 2007.
40. ^ "Mali/présidentielle: l'opposition finit par accepter une défaite trop large", AFP (Afriquenews.com), May 20, 2007 (French).
41. ^ Sidiki Y. Dembélé, "Mali: Mariko piétine la Céni et la Cour constitutionnelle", Les Echos (allAfrica.com), May 30, 2007 (French).
42. ^ A. Diarra, "Les accusations tardives d’Oumar Mariko", L'Observateur (lemali.fr), May 31, 2007 (French).
43. ^ "Malian president sworn-in for second term", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), June 9, 2007.
44. ^ "Mali / Présidentielle: la Cour constitutionnelle valide la réélection de Touré", AFP (Maliweb.net), 12 May 2007 (French).