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Ibrahim Boubacar Keita

“In this country. we have never contested the post-election results,” he said.

Speaking of how smoothly the voting was conducted, IBK noted that “it seems as though the Malian people were eagerly awaiting for the opportunity to democratically elect their leader. This is a victory for democracy,” he said.

“I hope that by the end of the elections, it’s only Mali that will have won. A strong and dignified Mali, which takes its place in history; a country that will build on its glorious and more beautiful past, and one that makes us forget the recent political crisis,” he said.

He hailed the “high turnout rate that had never been seen before in the country’s election history.”

“The future president will have legitimacy because he will be elected on a more clear basis, without any ambiguity. This will be the foundation for the departure of a new Mali,” he added.

Asked whether he thought the presidential elections could be won in the first round, Keita was measured in his response.

“I cannot predict such, we shall know it later. I am a democrat and I believe in democratic principles. Only the results will tell us that. We shall have to wait for the outcome from the ballot boxes, but whatever the outcome, I will respect those results,” he said.

Keita, the former prime minister, is one of the leading candidates of the 27 contenders in the race. (Xinhua)