Acts of violence tumble the first round of the presidential election in Mali | World

The electoral colleges have closed at 18h (15h in Brasília), and the partial result will begin to be published within 48 hours. The final result will be known on August 3rd. If none of the 24 candidates exceeds 50% of the votes, the second round will be held on the 12th.

According to local sources heard by Efe, the vast desert region of the north and center of the country has been affected by acts of violence . Some polling stations and ballot boxes were set on fire by unidentified groups in places such as Timbuktu, Gao, Mopti and Segu.

Up to now, the government has not commented on these cases or their consequences for the electoral process. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but a video of the Malian jihadist leader, Iyad Ag Ghali, was circulating in recent days.

Today, observers and various researches point to the current president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, of the Malian Groupement (RPM), followed by Soumaila Cissé of the Union for the Republic and Democracy ( URD) and leader of the opposition.

In previous elections, in 2013, Keita won 70% of the vote, ahead of Cissé, and there was no need for a second round. In the current conflict, experts have indicated that a decrease in Keita's popularity has been detected, which creates greater uncertainty as to the outcome.

Keita, who voted in Bamako, was confident and encouraged the people to participate. The membership rate, which has not yet been officially released, is one of the major challenges, since it is usually less than 50%. In the capital, apparently, the turnout was lower than on other occasions, partly because of people's lack of interest in politics and partly because of the rains, which makes difficult access to the polls.

More than 8.4 million voters were eligible to vote this Sunday in 23,041 polling stations nationwide. For the occasion, security has been strengthened and more than 30,000 soldiers have been dispersed throughout the country.