Mali – Presidential election: it's off to a good start

The 24 presidential candidates in Mali officially entered the campaign this Saturday, July 7 with Koulouba Palace in sight. It is in a country under a state of emergency, plagued by jihadist violence and inter-communal tensions that they will try to convince Malians to give them the keys of the presidency for the next five years. But long before savoring this day, the challenges posed by the very organization of the ballot are immense.

Security, routing of materials, transparency of the vote, removal of candidates, support of the population or religious leaders, place of the community international … so many unknowns for a poll with uncertain outcome.

Strong mobilization at campaign meetings

If, Saturday, the start was rather shy, the two candidates to follow on Sunday were obviously the outgoing president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, commonly known as IBK, 73 years in office since 2013. He launched his presidential campaign at the stage of March 26 surrounded by artists. His great rival Soumaïla Cissé, 68, president of the party Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) ​​ and leader of the opposition, was also on the ground, place de la République with the artist Salif Keïta for support. But behind these large gatherings, one goal for both men: win the battle of mobilization and set the tone of the beginning of the campaign. Bet won for IBK which gathered more than 60 000.

So much for the pictures. In the concrete, the outgoing president presented himself as the man of the situation always close to the peoples: " I present myself for my succession, not for love of the power, but for love for this country, for its security and its stability, "President Keita said in Bambara language, in white boubou and cap. He asked his supporters to "stay mobilized for victory."

His rival did not wait to attack the head of state on his record. " I pledge my utmost efforts to restore peace and unity, to restore the State's full authority. Before continuing: "I pledge to fight clientelism and corruption. I make the solemn oath that no member of my family will have official positions, "said Cisse, in white boubou and amid large inflatable balloons with his effigy and banners indicating:" Soumaïla Cissé, the hope of Mali. "

To counter his two ultra-favorites, challengers gradually impose themselves in the electoral game. This is the case of Hamadoun Touré, a former international civil servant, or Modibo Sidibé, former Prime Minister, or Oumar Mariko. Still others are outsiders like Nasa astrophysicist Cheick Modibo Diarra, former prime minister under the transition in 2012. He has received support from Moussa Mara, a former prime minister as well. The president of the Yelema party withdrew at the last moment for, he says, to win the alternation.

An election under high security

This campaign is held in a difficult security context in Mali. In the north as in the center of the country, some localities are frequently targeted by terrorist attacks or intercommunal conflicts. To secure the process, nearly 30,000 men are mobilized, according to the security commission for the 2018 elections. The defense and security forces of Mali, the international forces, but also the ex-combatants of the armed groups will be deployed on the ground. Among them, some will be tasked with the protection of candidates. Malian soldiers will secure the voting centers in particular. In the north of the country, they will be accompanied by the Operational Coordination Mechanism (OMC), which brings together military and veterans from the groups that signed the peace agreement.

In addition to the security arrangements put in place, two elements of the armed forces Each year, the Minusma, which has forwarded election materials in recent weeks, has undertaken to transport candidates who wish to do so in areas outside the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

Government control, particularly in the north of the country, the stronghold of the former Tuareg rebellion. "They are transported from Bamako to the capital of the regions where we are," Minusma chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif told AFP, hoping that the candidates would be sensitive to the possibility of "going anyway in regions which are supposed to be under the control of movements. "

The European Union (EU) this week deployed a first group of 20 observers, whose numbers are to reach 80 by polling day. Last week, the UN Security Council matched its one-year renewal of the Minusma's mandate with a warning to the Malian parties to achieve rapid progress in the peace process.

Northern Mali had fallen in March-April 2012 under the guise of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda, largely driven or dispersed by a military intervention launched in January 2013 at the initiative of France, which is currently continuing.

the signing of the 2015 agreement, not only has the violence persisted, but it has also spread from the north to the center and south of the country, then to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, often mingling with tensions or inter-community conflicts.