Post 1 Mali: Politics and Possibility

Alaina Strollo
Sep 3, 2018 · 4 min read

Mali sprawls across 482,077 square miles, making it the eighth largest country in Africa. It is home to over 18 million people, who speak Bambara, French, Berber, and Arabic. Mali is the third largest gold producer in Africa, and the country is also known for its cotton production. Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Mali.

Mali is ranked #27 in the world on the Fragile States Index. Since 2017 the country has changed .7, which is an indicator of political unrest and a potential vulnerability to worsening conditions. According to Fund For Peace, Mali is one of the most worsened countries alongside “Libya, Bahrain, Syria, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen.”

The Malian presidential election of 2018 is concrete proof of political unrest in the country. The election was complicated for several reasons.

Although 24 people battled for the presidency, the former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, frequently called IBK, won by 41.1%, followed by Soumaïla Cissé who followed with 17.8%.

IBK

These numbers aren’t necessarily completely accurate, though. Allies of Al-Qaeda blocked off around 600 polling stations, and about a fifth of all polling stations were disturbed by some sort of violence.

Violence on voting day may have affected first-round voting, and due to the fact that neither candidate won by over 50%, IBK and Cisse had to participate in a runoff election. IBK won by 67.2%, initiating a second five year term as president.

Soumalia Cisse

It wasn’t so easy for IBK, though. Cisse claimed that IBK committed fraud by stuffing ballots with votes and causing other irregularities in voting. Cisse was so sure about IBK’s illegal political moves that he asked Mali’s constitutional court to reverse IBK’s landslide win in the runoff election.The EU said that there was no fraud in the runoff election, therefore ratifying IBK’s win.

There’s still a ton to unpack about the Malian presidential election.

For starters, it’s important to mention that the 2018 election bares a startling resemblance to the 2013 election. So much so that IBK and Cisse were both battling for the presidency in the same vicious manner five years ago. Just like in 2018, the two competed in a runoff election. Just like in 2018, Cisse claimed “widespread fraud” in the voting system, which the EU later denied. These two political figures have fought for the same crucial role, and IBK has prevailed both times, even though there’s confusion as to why.

2012 was an extremely dangerous, dark, and influential time in Mali’s history. Northern Mali was in immediate danger (and still is), which resulted in French intervention and 13,000 United Nations peacekeepers. Because of the intense political unrest in 2012, the 2013 election was a huge deal. The election was Mali’s opportunity to turn things around; make things right again. IBK’s presidency didn’t do that. In fact, “Insecurity in Mali continues to worsen, having spread from the north to Mali’s more central and more populated regions of Mopti and Segou.”

Can IBK’s second term stabilize Mali when his first term didn’t? Is it possible that IBK can make significant change at this stage? I’m hoping that it’s too soon to say. I’m hoping everyone’s skepticism will be misguided.

While reading up on the election in Mali, I stumbled upon this unsettling quote: “Perhaps the key question may prove to be whether voters distrust the sitting president more than they mistrust his opponent.” This snippet of commentary bothered me because it reminded me of the 2016 election in America. During intense political conversations with family or peers, I frequently heard the phrase: Well, vote for who you hate less. This line of thought made me terribly uncomfortable. Why would I want to vote for someone who’s done wrong, who’s corrupt? Am I settling? Am I involved in a continuation of corruption in politics? I never knew the answers, but I voted for who I thought was right anyway. Maybe this is something that Malian voters thought, too.

Mali, courtesy of https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2017/02/17/the-worlds-deadliest-u-n-peacekeeping-mission/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.86f6a381000d

Sub-Saharan Africa/Mizzou

Globalization Class

Alaina Strollo

Written by

Sub-Saharan Africa/Mizzou

Globalization Class

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