Mali opposition chief launches presidential bid for July 2018 polls

In the run up to the 2018 July presidential election, Mali’s opposition chief Soumaïla Cissé, was on Saturday appointed presidential candidate for his party in front of thousands of his supporters in a stadium in the capital Bamako.

Cissé also launched his presidential bid during the event and warned against fraud in next year’s polls.

“Let us be vigilant, no cheating, no fraud as in 2013… we will no longer accept that,” he said.

The 68-year old former minister of finance will be contesting against current president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita,who is yet to officially confirm his candidacy, although he was appointed candidate on May 7 by a coalition of nearly 70 parties.

Planned elections in the west African country have been repeatedly postponed since 2013, in part due to security concerns over Islamist extremism especially in the northern part of the country.