MALI’s Constitutional Court on Monday, August 20, proclaimed incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as winner of the August 12  presidential run-off election with 67.16% or 1,791,926 of the votes cast.

The Court in a statement signed by Chief Clerk Barr Abdoulaye M’bodge said opposition leader Soumaïla Cisse polled 876 124 or 32.84% of the votes.

“Considering that candidate Ibrahim Boubacar Keita obtained a million seven hundred and ninety-one thousand nine hundred and twenty-six (1,791,926) votes,  and candidate Soumaïla Cisse, eight hundred and seventy-six thousand one hundred twenty-four (876,124) votes,” the Court said, “that candidate Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has therefore collected the absolute majority of the votes cast to be proclaimed elected President of the Republic.”

Quoting Article 37 of the Constitution, the Court notes “that the Elected President of the Republic takes office fifteen (15) days after the official proclamation of the poll results.”

Consequently, President Keita’s second five-year mandate begins from 4th September 2018 to 3rd September 2023, the Court said.

Cisse had rejected the poll results declared by the Ministry of Territorial Administration, which also gave Keita victory.

The Constitutional Court dismissed as inadmissible, Cisse’s claims of alleged fraud, and that he had won the run-off poll by 52%.

Both candidates had emerged frontrunners in the first round ballot of 30th July, contested by 24 candidates.

Mali with an estinated population of 18 million, had registered about eight million voters for the presidential election.

But the run-off vote was characterised by security concerns, especially in Mali’s central and northern regions, and voter apathy with a turn-out of less than 35%.

– Aug. 21, 2018 @ 12:45 GMT |