By Godfrey Olukya 28-5-2013
The date on which Mali’s presidential elections will be held has been set.
The acting president Dioncounda Traore has said that neither he nor his ministers will stand in the polls. His announcement has excited many people in Mali who thought that he would use his office to manipulate the elections.
According to a draft law adopted by Mali cabinet yesterday, the country’s presidential election will be held on July 28,2013. The elections will go to a second round on August 11 2013 if required.
The last 18 months have been full of chaos in Mali. Islamic terrorists destabilized northern Mali where they attacked and seized key cities killing innocent people and destroying property.
With the help of French troops, Mali army managed to flush out the terrorists from most of northern part of the country. With relative peace in most of the country, elections are soon to be held.
A cabinet communique released yesterday marked the first official confirmation of the date of the poll. According to the communique, The campaign for presidential elections will begin n on Sunday, July 7 and end on July 26,2013.
ECOWAS has sent some troops to Mali. France has started withdrawing its 4,500 troops from Mali and is handing over to a 6,300-strong force called International Mission for Support to Mali (MISMA).
EU is also training Mali’s armed forces so that they can be with capacity to fight any negative forces with intention of disturbing peace in the country.
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