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Malians Set to Vote for President July 29

by Bram Posthumus

   BAMAKO --

   Malians on July 29 will go to the polls to decide between twenty-four
   candidates for president. None are expected to win an outright
   majority, including President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and opposition
   leader Soumaïla Cisse, so a second round of voting is likely.

   Bamako's busy streets have been adorned with numerous glossy posters.
   But they don't advertise soap, mineral water, or mobile telephone
   services.
   These are campaign posters for Sunday's presidential election. And, the
   advertised message is: Vote for me!

   For Malians, swing votes may come down to basics.
   Sara Coulibaly is a teacher in a deprived Bamako neighborhood with no
   running water and broken electricity. And like everybody else who needs
   to feed a family, she has one urgent request to whoever gets elected
   head of state: please make our food affordable again.
   Today, she said, "we struggle to make ends meet and put a decent meal
   on the table."
   One thing that could help bringing food prices down is
   self-sufficiency, argues engineering student, Dramane Diallo.
   "In Mali, agriculture is central to peoples' lives," he said. "It's
   high time that our leaders make plans to help our farmers. Mali imports
   rice, fruits, wheat and more '¦ things that can easily be produced here
   at a much cheaper price."
   First year journalism student Araba Keita says whoever is elected
   should focus on job creation.
   "It would be so nice if we got a job after our studies," she said.
   "Instead, many will find it hard to get by and end up in places where
   their talents are wasted."
   On the streets of Bamako, Malians talk of affordable food and housing,
   better basic services from water and electricity to education and
   health care, jobs, and -- above all -- peace and security.

   The main frontrunner for Sunday's selection, Mali's 73-year-old
   President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, said he has delivered. His rival,
   68-year-old opposition leader Soumaïla Cisse, said he can do better.
   The two men are remarkably similar. Both were educated and worked in
   France. President Keita then made a career in international aid
   organizations while Cisse joined the business world.
   But both returned to Mali and entered politics after Malians rose up in
   1991 and a coup ended the country's military dictatorship.
   They joined the same political party, served as high-ranking government
   officials, formed their own parties, and then both ran for president.
   Keita finally won in 2013. Cisse hopes this time it will be his turn.