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               Officials Count Mali Vote After 'Abysmal' Turnout

   Election officials in Mali are counting votes after a parliamentary
   election that saw low turnout and some reports of irregularities.
   The vote Sunday is meant to be the last step in restoring democracy in
   the country where soldiers toppled the president last year and
   al-Qaida-linked militants took control of the north.
   Abdel Fatau Musah, director for external relations for the Economic
   Community of West African States, told VOA there were some
   irregularities, but that observers did not report major incidents.
   However, he said the election was dampened by what he called "abysmal"
   turnout.
   "You cannot put a premium on the importance of what is happening today
   in Mali on the stability of the country and also peace and security as
   a whole, not to talk about international peace and security. Simply
   because first we are talking about the psychological effects. This is a
   country that was rocked by a terrorist attacks and with a coup d`état."
   Officials said Tuareg separatists prevented voters from casting ballots
   in a few places, while armed men stole some ballot boxes near the
   northern town of Timbuktu.
   About 6.5 million Malians were eligible to vote Sunday, with more than
   1,000 candidates vying for 147 seats in the new national assembly. Any
   races that are not decided in the initial round will go to a runoff
   December 15.
   Mali`s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who himself was elected in a
   peaceful August, sounded hopeful earlier Sunday after casting his own
   vote.
   "I hope that these elections will take place peacefully and
   transparently and that at the end we will have a national assembly of
   men and women who will achieve the project that the people of Mali have
   invested in. This is what I hope most of all and that our country will
   find its friendliness and its harmony."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/officials-count-mali-vote-after-abysm
   al-turnout/1796890.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/officials-count-mali-vote-after-abysmal-turnout/1796890.html