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Mali urged to restrain after opposition leader rejects results

Soumaila Cisse said on Monday he would reject the results of the vote.
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The United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) called for restraint in Mali on Tuesday after the opposition candidate said he would reject the results of a presidential run-off.

Provisional results of the face off between President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 73, and former Finance Minister, Soumaila Cisse, 68, are expected on Wednesday, according to an official source.

But Cisse said on Monday he would reject the results of the vote, which was marred by violence, low turnout and accusations of fraud.

He called on “all Malians to rise up against the dictatorship of fraud.”

“Responsibility for what is going to happen in this country lies with the president’s side,” he declared.

In New York, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called on “all parties to remain calm through the conclusion of the electoral process” and avoid “incendiary rhetoric.”

The EU mission called on candidates to “show restraint” and “avoid announcing their own result estimates before the results are published.”

Cisse’s team and other opposition contenders have repeatedly accused the government of fraud, including ballot-box stuffing and vote-buying.

“The fraud is proven, this is why there are results we will not accept,” Cisse said at his party’s headquarters in Bamako on Monday.

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