Cisse Admits Defeat in Mali’s Presidential Elections

Mali’s presidential elections have been won by Ibrahim Boubacar Keita after his rival admitted defeat just one day after the second round of elections were held.

Although official results have not been announced, former Malian Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse conceded defeat against ex-Prime Minister (1994 – 2002) Keita on Monday, announcing that he had “went to see him to congratulate him and wish him good luck for Mali.”  His defeat  came hours after electoral and security sources had indicated that Mr. Keita had pulled ahead with two-thirds of the votes counted after Sunday’s second round of the election.  This was confirmed by Mr. Cisses’ spokesman, who indicated that his candidate had admitted defeat after it became clear the Mr. Keita had won the polls in Gao, which is the largest town in northern Mali.  Both Mr. Keita and Mr. Cisse had lost out in the 2002 presidential elections to Amadou Toumani Toure, who was overthrown by a military junta in March of last year, just weeks before the end of his final term in office.  Mr. Keita will now face the daunting task of rebuilding a country that is still reeling from more than a year of turmoil.

During weeks of campaigning, Mr. Keita became known for his blunt speech, his refusal to compromise and his reputation for toughness.  Throughout his campaign, he vowed to unify Mali if elected, stating that “for Mali’s honor, I will bring peace and security.  I will revive dialogue between all the sons of our nation and I will gather our people around the values that have built our history:  dignity, integrity, courage and hard work.”  His top priority will be to secure lasting peace for northern Mali, which has seen five violent rebellions since the country gained its independence from France in 1960.  The 68-year-old will now oversee more than US $4 billion (£2.6 billion) in foreign aid promised to rebuild the country after a turbulent eighteen months.  The new government which he will lead will also be obliged to open peace talks with the separatist Tuareg rebels within two months following a ceasefire that enabled voting to take place in the northern regions of the country.  Cementing national reconciliation will likely be a challenge for the newly formed government as many in the southern regions of the country continue to be hostile towards funneling more of Mali’s already scarce resources to a region they see as being responsible for the country’s plight.  In turn, there is a continued unease between a number of ethnic groups, not only between the north and south, but also within the north itself.

The European Union’s election observation mission has given the elections a positive assessments, stating that it complied with international standards in “99 percent” of Mali’s polling stations.  European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has welcomed what she calls “a credible and transparent” election.  A statement released by her office also noted that the EU pledged to support efforts to “build a durable peace and restore national unity” in the West African country.  Meanwhile the United States has signaled that it was prepared to resume aid to Mali following the election.  Marie Harf, deputy spokeswoman at the State Department, hailed Mali’s interim government for “securing a peaceful and orderly environment in which Malians were able to vote,” further adding that “we’ve made clear that following the return of a democratically elected government, we will seek to normalize our foreign assistance to Mali.”  The United States was legally forces to suspend military aid to Mali after the coup in March of last year.