With our correspondent in the region, Serge Daniel
According to witnesses, there was no crowd in front of most polling stations. If we wait for turnout to confirm this trend, the Election Observation Mission in Mali (Model) confirms that it has not detected any real enthusiasm for the election. The organization has more than 3,000 observers stationed on site.
“Voter turnout will have a very negative impact on the referendum because if we don’t have a high turnout, it will affect legitimacy. “What we saw, however, is that there was no public enthusiasm for the vote,” explains Dr. Ibrahima Sangho, head of the observation mission.
Elective materials were generally available. In central Mali, we primarily voted in the cities where the police were present. But not in remote cities. Because if the vote was generally calm, there were incidents in certain towns. In the direction of Djenné, for example, on Sunday early in the night we were without any news from the polling station officials.
“There are people who have been kidnapped by terrorist groups,” said Ibrahima Sangho. In the centre, in the south and even in the north of the country, ballot boxes were set alight and burned, and poll workers were prevented from conducting the elections. There are places where the polling stations have been moved for security reasons, and when the polling stations move, it is not certain that they will move with the voters. »
The head of the observation mission also recalled that there was no vote in Kidal. The ex-rebels actually rejected the draft of a new constitution and did not authorize the voting to take place in the region. And there was still no vote in some places in the far north for security reasons.
Supporters of the “No” are already denouncing irregularities that would have affected the election process.
The referendum, a first step
Despite the holding of the referendum, there is still a difficult path to be overcome in order to turn the page of the transition. The organization of the parliamentary elections and in particular the presidential elections, with a question that is already on everyone’s mind: can Colonel Assimi Goïta be a candidate? The Transitional Charter does not suggest this. But the debate between constitutionalists has begun.
But the possible candidacy of Colonel Goïta is also a topic of discussion in the political class. Support committees have already been set up to support the Malian junta head’s candidacy, while other political groups and associations do not recognize his candidacy.
Another problem that persists is the relationship between the government and the ex-rebels. They rejected the draft constitution and banned the organization of voting in the Kidal region, which they control. The country therefore remains divided and we must revive the Algiers peace agreement.
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