Ethnic tensions have escalated in Mali, as the West African country is preparing itself for the Presidential Polls scheduled to be held on Sunday. Amidst the flaring instability, Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga has clarified in a statement that they “have absolutely nothing to hide in this process, because Malians have the right to an unstained election process, and we have been striving for several months to ensure that all initiatives that can contribute to transparency of electoral operations are taken into account.”
Recently, he held a meeting with members of the Government and the technical services to take stock of the preparations for the elections, to analyze the various statements and positions they have taken during the past two days.
The Prime Minister said, “I would like to say unequivocally that there is only one electoral file, the one that was audited at the end of April and on the basis of which the voters’ lists and voter cards were printed. It is also this file that has been put on the internet. I invite the electors to consult the lists of electors that are now posted at the polling stations today. Everyone will be able to see that there are no active voters.
“I must also remember that the cards are distributed by the representatives of the political parties. To date, no party has been able to point out the existence of cards that would be made on behalf of fictitious persons, or cards without photos.”
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Assuring that despite the hitches, the country will go to elections on July 29th, Maiga added, “This is a certainty, and I have no doubt about it. We work in that direction; and it is in this sense that we have worked with all the actors. And of course everyone can have their opinion, their judgment, their agenda. Ours is to organize the elections on July 29 in terms of transparency that could not be questioned in good faith.”