Mali: Beyond the elections

The fact that  the runner-up in the run-off election, former finance minister Soumaila Cisse, in a gesture rarely seen in Africa, congratulated the winner, former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Toure, popularly known as IBK, and wished him luck gave further credence to the verdict of international observers. In the first round held on July 28, […]

The fact that  the runner-up in the run-off election, former finance minister Soumaila Cisse, in a gesture rarely seen in Africa, congratulated the winner, former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Toure, popularly known as IBK, and wished him luck gave further credence to the verdict of international observers. In the first round held on July 28, in a crowded field of 27 candidates, IBK led the pack with about 30 per cent of the vote while his nearest rival, Cisse, obtained about 20 per cent. Since none of the candidates received the mandatory 50 per cent of the vote, they had to go for a run-off.
Mali has experienced a turbulent history in the recent past. In March 2012 the army seized power under the leadership of Captain Amadou Sanogo only a few months to an election and towards the end of the tenure of the outgoing president Amadou Toumani Toure. The coup was all the more surprising given the fact that the charismatic ATT, as he was popularly known, was considered a hero after toppling military dictator Moussa Traore and restored democracy in Mali in the early ‘90s.
For two decades the country had been considered a role model of democracy in West Africa until the rude awakening of the coup in 2012.  Following the coup in Bamako, disgruntled Touareg separatists calling themselves the Movement for the National Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) who had long campaigned for self-determination seized control of the northern part of the country, a territory almost the size of France, declaring the independent state of Azawad. The new military government in Bamako did not stay long as it was forced to hand over power to an interim government thanks to stringent sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
The security situation in the north deteriorated further when an alliance of Islamists, consisting of the Movement for the Unity and Islamisation of West Africa (MUJAO), Ansar Din and AlQaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) pushed the separatists aside. They introduced Sharia in the areas which they controlled, meting out harsh punishments on those who broke the law, including floggings and amputation of limbs. To make matters worse, the Islamists embarked on an orgy of destroying historical sites considered un-Islamic in the fabled city of Timbuktu, a UNESCO heritage site.   
It was an attempt by the Islamist insurgents to push further south, having captured the strategic cities of Konnan and Mopti, advancing towards Bamako, the capital, that proved to be a game changer. Amid international concerns, France intervened on the invitation of the Interim President Diouncouda Traore. French air strikes, followed by the deployment of ground troops, stopped the Islamists in their tracks, dislodging them from the three main northern regions of Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao pushing them further into the desert. A regional force, the African-led mission consisting of ECOWAS troops was deployed in March this year and later replaced by a blue helmet Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) under UN auspices to help in stabilizing the country and replace French troops.
The new president has his work cut out. He has to tackle the daunting challenge of restoring a failed state. In spite of French intervention and the presence of a UN force, all is not quiet on the northern front. There have been reports of sporadic attacks in the three northern regions.  The new president must address the vexed issue of the marginalization of the Touaregs in the north as a matter of urgency if Mali is to have lasting peace.  
Aside from security concerns, there is also the challenge of growing the country’s economy which has been stagnant for a while. Hopefully the much-touted four billion dollars in aid, suspended since the coup in March last year, should provide Mali with the financial assistance it seriously needs.