BAMAKO, Mali -- Malians voted Sunday in a runoff election to determine whether President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will remain the leader of a West African nation threatened by rising extremist violence.
Attacks and threats of violence by Islamic extremists disrupted the vote, with election observers reporting low turnout.
The chairman of Arkodia village in the Timbuktu region was killed, four election workers were physically harassed and the polling station was burned, according to the Citizen Observation Pool of Mali, which had more than 2,000 observers.
Two polling stations were burned in Keltamba, and election officials were harmed by gunmen in the Ngouma commune in central Mali, observers said.
More than 50 polling stations were closed before noon because of threats by extremists, the organization said.
Malian authorities on Friday arrested three jihadis who said they were preparing to carry out an election day attack in the capital of Bamako, said Col. Idrissa Traore, a Malian army spokesman.
Extremists are staging bold attacks that have spread to central Mali, where both Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants are present. Deadly clashes between ethnic groups and accusations of heavy-handed counterterrorism operations have caused even deeper tensions and mistrust of the government.
Still, Keita remained the favorite to defeat opposition leader Soumaila Cisse and gain a second term. Keita, 73, received 41.7 percent of the vote in the first round July 29 against a field of 24 candidates.
"I hope that everyone will be very vigilant," Keita said as he voted near his home in Bamako, adding that any suspected attempts at fraud should be reported to police.
Cisse, 68, who placed second in the first round with nearly 18 percent of the vote, has blamed Keita for the nation's violence and corruption.
A Section on 08/13/2018