Madame Lobbo Toure of the Republic of Mali. The results of the April 29, 2007 elections will probably return her husband, Amadou Toumani Toure, as president.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos.
Polls close in Mali for new president
AFP
Voters in Mali cast their ballots Sunday in elections widely tipped to result in triumph for incumbent president Amadou Toumani Toure, despite opposition claims of fraud.
Eight candidates were vying for the top job in one of Africa's vast but impoverished country which has made rare but significant democratic strides in the past decade and a half.
After 10 hours of peaceful balloting, voting stations closed in the west African country's fourth successive democratic presidential vote since the ouster 16 years ago of a dictatorial military regime.
Toure is a former general who ousted dictator Moussa Traore in 1991 and who installed a multi-party system before stepping aside in 1992. Ten years later he returned to the political scene, stood for presidential elections and won eaily.
The 58-year-old does not have a political party but enjoys the backing of two large coalitions and a myriad of small parties, including the Tuareg ex-rebels who once waged a separatist war in the northeast.
Among Toure's rivals in the poll is key opposition figure Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a former prime minister and head of the national assembly.
"We have had an inkling of fraud, of which we await confirmation," claimed Djiguiba Keita spokesman of the main opposition coalition, the Front for Democracy and the Republic (FDR).
A former cabinet minister and now opposition politician Tiebile Drame of the Party for National Revival (PARENA) claimed "widespread fraud" in the polls, but did not elaborate.
No incident was reported either in the run-up to the elections or during actual polling itself.
Some 1,000 poll observers were posted across the vast 1,2 million square kilometres (478,800 square miles) partly desert country locked in heart of west Africa.
Casting his ballot, Toure urged peaceful polling.
"My wish is that the elections go well, that Malians vote peacefully and freely," he said.
Turnout was high in the first few hours of voting but slowed mainly due to searing heat, according to polling officers.
"The general impression is that voter abstention was slightly less this year than in preceding two rounds," said Gerard Latortue, Haiti's former Prime Minister who is heading the OIF organisation of French speaking countries team of observers, told AFP.
"All has gone well according to what our teams have observed, no incident has been reported," said Latortue.
National electoral commission chief Fodie Toure expected voter turnout to be better than in 2002.
Observers has earlier feared the vote could be marked by voter apathy after fewer than two-thirds of the roughly 6.8 million eligible voters bothered to collect their electoral cards.
Summing up the mood of relaxed ambivalence, taxi driver Camara said voting "serves no purpose ... because democracy is now well established in this country."
In the last elections in 2002 and 1997, voter turnout in the former French colony fell under 25 percent.
Around 600,000 Malians in the diaspora also voted.
First results were expected to start trickling in Monday but full results should be ready around Wednesday or Thursday, given the huge size of the country, which lies on the edge of the Sahara desert.
Despite being the third largest gold-producer in Africa after South Africa and Ghana, Mali is the world's third poorest country, according to the United Nations.
The majority of its 13.5 million people live in rural areas.
Mali gained independence from France in 1960, and was led by president Modibo Keita until he was overthrown in 1968 by Traore, who ruled for 23 years.
Mali votes to elect new president
Voters in Mali have been to the polls in presidential elections contested by eight candidates.
President Amadou Toumani Toure - who is seeking a second and final five-year term - was seen as a clear favourite.
Although officially running as an independent, he was backed by more than 30 parties in the West African nation.
Opposition candidates say the voters' list favours the incumbent, accusing Mr Toure's supporters of using state assets to fund his electoral campaign.
The strongest opposition challenger is Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the president of Mali's national assembly and former prime minister who came third in the 2002 poll.
Early results are not expected until Monday.
Cotton farmers
Part of Mr Toure's popularity stems from the fact that he played a leading role in ending military dictatorship with a coup 16 years ago, says the BBC's West Africa correspondent Will Ross.
Turnout was expected to be low as many voters did not picked up their registration cards.
Mali is Africa's third largest gold producer but the vast majority of the country's 14 million people live off the land, our correspondent says.
The plight of the cotton farmers had been a key election issue, he says.
Analysts hope the elections will go some way to boost democracy in the region, especially after the widely criticised polls in Nigeria, our correspondent says.
One African human rights organisation has said that democracy seems to be losing steam.
If no candidate gets an absolute majority in the first round, the two top candidates will compete in a run-off in two week's time.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6604795.stm
Published: 2007/04/29 20:03:19 GMT
Monday April 30, 2:16 AM
Mali votes for new president
AFP
Malians voted on Sunday in presidential elections expected to hand the incumbent a second five-year term and boost the poverty-stricken west African country's democratic credentials.
After nearly 10 hours of peaceful balloting voting stations were due to close in the west African country's fourth successive democratic presidential vote since the ouster 16 years ago of a dictatorial military regime.
Amadou Toumani Toure, who won praise for restoring civilian rule after he led a military takeover in the early 1990s, is seeking a new term as an independent candidate.
The former general ousted dictator Moussa Traore in 1991 and installed a multi-party system before stepping aside in 1992. Ten years later he stood for presidential elections and won hands down.
Toure, 58, does not have a political party but enjoys the backing of two large coalitions and a myriad of small parties, including the Tuareg ex-rebels who once waged a separatist war in the northeast.
He is facing seven other candidates, the most credible being key opposition figure Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a former prime minister and head of the national assembly.
For the first time in the history of this mainly Muslim country a female candidate is among the presidential hopefuls. Sidibe Aminata Diallo, 50, is a professor in town planning at the university of Bamako and has previously worked for UNESCO.
A former cabinet minister and now opposition politician Tiebile Drame of the Party for National Revival (PARENA) claimed "widespread fraud" in the polls, but did not elaborate.
Toure had earlier urged peaceful polling as he cast his ballot at an airforce school in the capital Bamako.
"My wish is that the elections go well, that Malians vote peacefully and freely," he said.
Turnout was high in the first few hours of voting in the capital but slowed mainly due to searing heat, according to polling officers.
"All has gone well according to what our teams have observed, no incident has been reported," said former Haitian prime minister Gerard Latortue, an observer with the OIF organisation of French-speaking countries.
National electoral commission chief Fodie Toure expected voter turnout to be better than in 2002.
"In 2002 we had a turnout rate of between 10 and 15 percent by midday, (but) this year we have exceeded that," he told AFP without providing details.
Observers fear the election could be marked by voter apathy after fewer than two-thirds of the roughly 6.8 million eligible voters bothered to collect their identification cards.
Summing up the mood of relaxed ambivalence, taxi driver Camara said voting "serves no purpose ... because democracy is now well established in this country."
In the last elections in 2002 and 1997, voter turnout in the former French colony fell under 25 percent.
Some 19,000 polling stations had been set up in this vast, partly desert African country.
Around 600,000 Malians living outside the country, half of them in nearby Ivory Coast, are taking part in the vote, officials said.
More than 1,000 international observers were present for the vote.
Final results are expected on Wednesday or Thursday.
Despite being the third largest gold-producer in Africa after South Africa and Ghana, Mali is the world's third poorest country, according to the United Nations.
The majority of its 13.5 million people live in rural areas.
Mali gained independence from France in 1960, and was led by president Modibo Keita until he was overthrown in 1968 by Traore, who ruled for 23 years.
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