Malians head to polls to elect new president

Over eight million Malians on Sunday headed to polls to elect their new president.

Polling stations in the capital Bamako and other areas in the North opened at 08:00 a.m. local time (0800GMT).

Mali’s national broadcaster ORTM reports a large turnout of voters in the capital Bamako.

But, the UN mission in the country said that the voting started slowly in other areas, especially in the unstable region largely controlled by militants.

Twenty-four candidates are vying for the presidential office, including incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

In a message on Bamako-based UN radio, Mahamat Saleh Anadif, the head of UN mission in Mali, urged Malians to use their right to vote.

“Dear Malians, do not add another crisis into the current crisis. Use this day to vote peacefully and respect the outcome,” Anadif said.

The UN mission also distributed the voting material to all 23,041 polling stations across the country.

Kadre Desire Ouadraogo, Head of ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Mali and former prime minister of Burkina Faso, also urged Malians to peacefully cast their votes.

“We are here as a regional body to ensure the process is peaceful and credible. I want Malians to help us achieve that,” Ouadagogo told UN radio.

ECOWAS has deployed a delegation of 171 observers across the country to monitor the voting process.

The government and the UN have deployed over 30,000 security personnel as part of the security measures on the polling day.

Mali is still battling ethnic violence and terrorism since 2013. The UN declared the country as the most dangerous for UN peacekeepers in the world. Since 2013, more than 150 UN peacekeepers have been killed.