Mali Opposition Challenges Presidential Election Results

(Bloomberg) -- Mali’s main opposition candidate and another contesting for the presidency have appealed to the nation’s Constitutional Court to investigate alleged violations during the July 29 elections.

Soumaila Cissé, who received the second-largest number of votes submitted evidence of ballot box stuffing to the Court, Baguiba Bah, a spokesman for his campaign team told Bloomberg News. Another opposition candidate, Cheick Modibo Diarra, has sent allegations of irregularities to the constitutional court, his CMD2018 coalition said in an emailed statement Sunday. The Court has until Aug. 8 to study the evidence and make a decision.

Incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 73, is due to face former Finance Minister Cissé, 68, in an Aug. 12 runoff after no candidate won a majority in the first round, in which Diarra finished fourth among 24 contenders.

Attacks and other violent incidents prevented people from casting their votes in 767 out of about 23,000 polling stations, mainly in the center and north of the country, figures from the Ministry of Territorial Administration showed. The European Union’s observer mission said there were irregularities, including in the distribution of electoral cards, raising doubts over the election’s credibility.

To contact the reporters on this story: Katarina Hoije in Abidjan at khoije@bloomberg.net;Bram Posthumus in Accra at bposthumus@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Steve Geimann at sgeimann@bloomberg.net, ;Bernard Kohn at bkohn2@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Keith Jenkins

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.