Preliminary results show low turnout in Mali election

The turnout for Mali's parliamentary elections this week was just 36 percent, officials said on Thursday.

AFP reports from Bamako that many people stayed away from the ballot for new MPs on Sunday due to threats of violence and the coronavirus pandemic.

Announcing the provisional results on Thursday, territorial administration minister Boubacar Alpha Bah said 35.73 percent of the 7.6 million registered voters turned out, AFP said.

The election followed the kidnap of leading opposition figure Soumaila Cisse.

AFP reports that provisional results indicate that Cisse was elected in the first round, but the results also show that a second round of voting will be needed in some districts where no candidate won a majority. AN AFP tally indicates that preliminary results show many candidates who support President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita are likely to face a second round of voting in April 19.