ECOWAS: No serious fraud detected in Mali polls

The head of the electoral observer mission for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ex-Ghanaian President John Kufuor, has said no serious fraud was detected during the first round of Mali's presidential elections held on July 28. Addressing the media on Monday, Kufuor hailed the "good conduct" of the elections in the ECOWAS member state and praised the "large turnout of the Malian voters." Responding to the concerns over the situation of the extra voter cards (NINA cards), which some parties had indicated could be in circulation, Kufuor said, "The possibility of rigging using the cards which we had spoken about prior to the election did not take place." Asked on why the supporters of ex-Malian prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had come out on Sunday night to "prematurely celebrate his victory," Kufuor said, "There was nothing new in this." "There's nothing serious on that incident to make us talk of an abnormality," he said, but then asked Malians to be patient and wait for the official announcement of the results which will be done by the Malian authorities. The president of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, also hailed the massive turnout of the Malian voters. He said the high number of people who turned out to cast their votes showed that Malians believed in the election as the solution to end the country's political crisis. ECOWAS deployed 250 observers to monitor the polls in Mali's administrative regions of Timbuktu, Gao, Sikasso, Koulikoro, Segou, Kayes, Kidal and Mopti, as well as the capital Bamako. Mali is expected to move out of the crisis triggered by a military coup on March 22, 2012.