Malis Boubacar Keita seeks second term in Sunday polls
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keita has played down the countrys security woes1 he faces 24 candidates of which only one soumaila cisse 68 is seen as having a strong chance of ousting him. both men are from the saharan nations political elite and ibk beat cisse in a run-off at the 2013 poll1 there is still a lot to do. thats why i am soliciting the malian people to give us another term not because im thirsty for power keita said at a rally on a leafy square on the banks of the niger river1 everywhere ive been i see a desire for change. malians want nothing more to do with this regime cisse told his supporters at his party headquarters1 all candidates have promised to reverse malis decline and help end pervasive poverty. mali is 14th from the bottom on the u.n. human development index despite being africas third biggest gold exporter and a major cotton grower1 a billboard in the exhaust fume-choked capital bamako depicts keita in flowing white robes and a skull cap urging malians to consolidate the peace1 yet since he has been in power violence has worsened. civil society website malilink recorded 932 attacks in the first half of 2018 almost double that for all of 2017 and triple 20151 in the north where french troops stepped in to halt a tuareg rebellion and jihadi takeover before the last poll jihadists have killed more than 160 u.n. peacekeepers1 timbuktu once a sahara desert tourist spot is unstable hit by islamist militants as well as tensions between arab and tuareg traders and black malians from the south1 islamist violence has also spread to central mali where militants have attacked the pan-regional g5 sahel force. killings have begun to take on an ethnic tone as the islamists exploit tensions over access to land and water1 human rights groups have unearthed evidence that malian troops were implicated in mass graves in central mali. the defence ministry pledged to investigate1 both held final rallies attracting thousands of people on friday night1 there are pockets of violence residues of terrorism that even french forces havent managed to vanquish from malian soil he said after a tour of malis diaspora one of about 150 costly foreign trips that have been criticised by opponents since he took office1 are you going to blame all that on ibk1 whoever is to blame the violence could deter many from voting in a nation with consistently the lowest turnout in west africa about 40 percent on average1 violence in the mopti region and northern region is really going to depress turnout said u.s. researcher bruce whitehouse1 discontent with ibk is palpable and thousands protested against him in bamako last month. yet he has the benefit of incumbency and is likely to win although probably only in a second round diplomats say1 though most expect a smooth election there is a risk of a disputed poll turning violent. opposition candidates are crying foul over alleged tampering with the electoral list1 im sad to see a government that cheats to see an electoral fraud in the offing cisse told reuters after his rally. but we dont have a plan-b. we must go the polls1 if mali can avoid a rancorous dispute over the result that will sooth anxieties1 thats the metric the international community will use there you go we had a peaceful election adam thiam a malian analyst told reuters in bamako1 this election is all about showing mali is stabilising1