BAMAKO (Reuters) - In the five years since Malians last chose a president, they have suffered violence from Islamist militants, Tuareg separatists, drug traffickers, ethnic vigilantes and Malian security forces. Yet when it comes to elections, power has tended to be contested peacefully in the West African republic, and diplomatic pressure is aimed at keeping to keep it that way when its citizens go to the polls on Sunday to decide whether to give President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita a second term or hand the top job to one of his rivals. “Mali has demonstrated the capacity over the years to deliver credible and peaceful elections, among the best in the region,” Mohamed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative to West Africa and the Sahel region, told Reuters at his office in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. “My plea is that candidates again show high responsibility,” he added. “We cannot afford a political crisis in Mali on top of the security crisis the country is already facing.”

Eight million people are registered to vote, with polls opening at 8 a.m. (0800 GMT) and closing at six (1800 GMT). Story continues below advertisement

A more assertive response by Mali’s security forces to the attacks has led to accusations by human rights groups of extrajudicial killings. Yet he has the benefit of incumbency and is likely to win, although probably only in a second round, diplomats say. “I’m sad to see a government that cheats, to see an electoral fraud in the offing,” Cisse told Reuters after his rally. And despite the presence of Mali’s army in Boulikessi, stations didn’t open there, said a security official in the region who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t permitted to speak to the press.
Malians go to the polls to elect a president.