Mali: the second round of the legislative elections maintained on April 19 against all odds

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta announced Friday evening that the second round of legislative elections will continue on April 19, 2020. (Here, February 8, 2019, in Berlin). REUTERS / Michele Tantussi

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In Mali, in a week, the second round of legislative elections is scheduled. On Sunday April 19, Malians will be called to the polls again. A second round organized under the same conditions as the first while the country is affected by the Covid-19 and the security situation has not improved.

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It was in his address to the nation, Friday evening, that the Malian president announced the continuation of the second round of the legislative elections. " The decision is not made by the government but by inclusive national dialogue ", justified Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

“ At the time of the dialogue in December , no one had planned for the Covid-19. Today is a situation of force majeure, ”replied former Minister Choguel Maïga and a member of the opposition.

According to the Ministry of Health, Mali had 116 positive cases and 9 people died.

For the first round, organized on March 29 , the government had left health instructions not always followed, according to observers. A first round which mobilized weakly : 37% of the voters went to vote. A low participation rate in the capital, around 10%, which contrasts with the very high rate exceeding 80% in certain regions of northern Mali.

In the North where Soumaïla Cissé was kidnapped by a jihadist group during the electoral campaign. His party the URD, which had nevertheless maintained its participation in the first round, could this time decide, according to a party official, to withdraw from the electoral race.

► Read also: Mali: several people arrested for "attempting to destabilize" the State

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  • Mali
  • Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

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