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                   Mali Awaits Presidential Election Results

   by Anne Look

   Malians are waiting on the government to announce provisional results
   from Sunday's presidential poll, as authorities salute what they say
   could mark a historic high voter turnout in the country. No major
   issues were raised during the vote. The election is seen as the first
   step toward getting Mali back on its feet after a disastrous 18-month
   political crisis and an Islamist takeover of the north.

   Malians voted Sunday in numbers that many think will set a new record
   in a country where voter turnout has never been more than 40 percent.

   Youssouf Sangare has worked in polling stations for the past five
   elections. For this election, he is the president of the largest voting
   center in Bamako, the Nyarkolo school.

   "A lot of people came out," he said. "From open to close, people came
   and just kept coming. I have never seen anything like it in my
   lifetime."

   As night fell and election officials counted ballots by lamplight,
   individual polling offices at the Nyarkolo center said they were
   counting turnouts as high as 65 percent.

   Even as voting began Sunday morning across town in Bamako's Commune 5,
   voter Amady Diallo said he knew this time would be different.

    "This election is a special case," Diallo noted. "We had the war, the
   coup, the jihadists who invaded the country. We need a legitimate
   government to fix things. That is why Malians are coming out in mass to
   vote to get a legitimate president and get Mali out of this rut it is
   in."

   It has been just seven months since French, Malian and regional troops
   liberated much of the north from al-Qaida-linked militants who seized
   control in the chaos that followed a new Tuareg rebellion in the north
   and a March 2012 military coup in the south.

   Voter turnout was reported to be enthusiastic in the formerly occupied
   town of Gao Sunday. However, farther north, in the Tuareg rebel
   stronghold of Kidal, the number of ballots cast by midday was in the
   single digits for polling offices counting hundreds of registered
   voters.

   Mali had just a few short months to organize this election, and there
   were issues, most notably with the voter list that had not been updated
   since 2009. However, officials say they were able to distribute 85
   percent of the new biometric voter cards ahead of the vote.

   The day was not without glitches. Some voters had trouble finding where
   they should vote, and there were reports that some Malians outside the
   country were not able to vote.

   A few of the 27 candidates expressed concern about fraud in the run-up
   to the poll.

    "I trust in this election but authorities need to be vigilant to
   prevent people from cheating," voter Naba Keita said.

   Mali's interim president Diouncounda Traore has urged candidates to
   "remain democrats to the end" and accept the results.

   French, Malian and U.N. troops secured the vote nationwide. Security
   forces were on high alert in the formerly occupied northern towns that
   have been the target of jihadist attacks and suicide bombings since
   being liberated in January. No incidents were reported.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/mali-awaits-presidential-election-results/1711942.html