Mali Election Update: President Amadou Toumani Toure Wins Second Term

President Amadou Toumani Toure and Madame Lobbo in Canada. The Malian incumbent won the recent elections by a landslide.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos.

Mali president wins second term

Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure has won a second five-year term in first-round presidential elections.

Provisional results from Sunday's election showed Mr Toure received 68% of the votes, while Ibrahim Boubacar Keita finished second with 19%.

Mr Toure far exceeded the 51% he needed to avoid a run-off election, interior ministry official Boubacar Sow said.

International monitors said the vote appeared to have gone smoothly, but opposition candidates alleged fraud.

They said voters' lists favoured Mr Toure and accused his supporters of using state assets for his campaign.

Voter turnout for the poll was 36%.

Coup leader

Mr Toure, known as "ATT", played a leading role in ending Mali's military dictatorship with a coup 16 years ago.

He then organised elections in 1992 and handed power over to the winner, Alpha Oumar Konare.

Mr Toure was elected president in 2002, after Mr Konare had served two terms.

Mr Keita is the president of Mali's National Assembly and a former prime minister who came third in the 2002 presidential poll.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6620533.stm
Published: 2007/05/03 15:35:05 GMT


Mali opposition seeks poll re-run

Mali's opposition has formally asked the Constitutional Court to annul last Sunday's presidential election.

"We do not recognise these results because it is a farce," said opposition coalition spokesman Djiguiba Keita.

They say the poll was marred by fraud and members of the military were ordered to vote for incumbent President Amadou Toumani Toure.

But the BBC West Africa correspondent says annulment is unlikely, as foreign observers declared it mostly fair.

The Front for Democracy and the Republic (FDR) opposition coalition says that it has concrete proof that it will present in court.

Provisional official figures issued by the authorities on Thursday gave President Toure more than 68% of the vote, putting him well ahead of his closest challenger, parliamentary speaker Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who had less than 19%.

Voter turnout for the poll was 36%.

Coup leader

Mr Toure, known as "ATT", played a leading role in ending Mali's military dictatorship with a coup 16 years ago.

He then organised elections in 1992 and handed power over to the winner, Alpha Oumar Konare.

Mr Toure was elected president in 2002, after Mr Konare had served two terms.

Mr Keita is president of Mali's National Assembly and a former prime minister who came third in the 2002 presidential poll.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6623603.stm
Published: 2007/05/04 10:16:01 GMT