At rallies across Mali, a vast desert nation perched on the edge of the Sahara, the blue and white clad supporters of incumbent President Amadou Toumani Touré chanted “Takokelen!”
It means “victory in one go” in Bambara, a local language. And, it seems, Malians have given the president just that. In last weekend’s elections, the fourth since the end of dictatorship in 1991, ATT, as the president is universally known, won well over 50% of the vote.
The opposition coalition has cried foul and called on the constitutional court to annul the result. A handful of protesters took to the streets this week. However, despite some imperfections on the voting lists and a low turnout — largely due to illiteracy and the large distances voters had to cover — local and foreign observers have given Mali’s polls the thumbs up.
Regional body Ecowas said the polls were free and fair. As did diplomats, who added that the few problems wouldn’t undermine the validity of the result. “Compared to the elections in Nigeria, these were perfect,” said Alioune Tine, the head of Raddho, a Dakar-based African human rights group.
While countries like Nigeria have struggled with democracy and others in the region, like Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, have been at war, Mali has been making quiet progress in a harsh environment.
Ranked third lowest in the world on the UN’s Human Development Index, Mali still has a long way to go. Illiteracy is estimated at 70% and an average Malian earns under $400 a month. Droughts and subsidies have hit the agriculture-based economy, already threatened by the Sahara creeping south.
Nonetheless, economic growth is above 5% and, so far, Mali has earned itself a reputation as a functioning democracy. As a result, donors are rewarding it with hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.
It was ATT who ended several decades of dictatorship in 1991, leading a coup and then handing power to civilians in 1992. His actions earned him another name, the “soldier of democracy” and the respect of Mali’s downtrodden people.
His manner is low key and he is unafraid to mingle in huge crowds at rallies and prefers to keep a low profile when travelling around the sun and sand-blasted capital, Bamako.
But it is his manner of governing that has impressed many. ATT has run the country without affiliation to any political party, supported instead by a coalition of 44 parties. Although they ran against him in the elections, his opponents still have representatives in the government.
“Whatever government comes out of this will be one of consensus,” said a western diplomat in Bamako. “In the long term, some might say that this is not good for debate but it has worked for 17 years here so who are we to criticise? The Malians have chosen a way that works for them.”
Assuming the election result is confirmed by Mali’s constitutional court, ATT has much unfinished business to attend to. He has promised to create 50Â 000 jobs for the youth and says he will continue to mechanise agriculture and raise cereal production to 10-million tons in 2012 from 3-million today.
With the cotton industry withering, Mali has developed its mining sector and is now Africa’s third-largest gold producer. The country has also joined the rush towards alternative energy and has attracted investors looking at producing biofuels from sugarcane and Jatropha, a rugged weed that survives in Mali.
The president’s handling of the restless north, a desperately isolated and underdeveloped swathe of the country, has also won him support.
An on-off rebellion has simmered for years between the government and the nomadic Tuaregs. When violence erupted again last year, ATT opted to open talks rather than fight back, initially prompting criticism that he was giving in to the rebels.
But the latest crisis ended quickly and ordinary Tuaregs are sick and tired of the fighting and believe the solution to their problems lies in education and development, not guns.
“We are for him because he brought us peace,” said Taya Ag Suleiman, a Tuareg trader sitting on a sand dune outside the historic town of Timbuktu.
“Since ATT has been in power, I could have slept on this sand and would still be there, unharmed, in the morning,” he added as his fellow traders performed their evening prayers on the sand.
The government promises to spend US$1-billion on developing the northern regions in the next 10 years. In the US, which sees the wilds of northern Mali as a potential safe haven or fertile recruiting ground for Islamist terrorists, Mali has a willing backer. The US is pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the country and regularly sends soldiers in to train the army.
Touré admits there have been failings but his team says he has proven his credentials. “Our candidate is providing the food, even if there is a debate over how good the sauce is. The others are just saying that they are hungry,” said Choguel Maiga, one of his campaign spokesmen.
Others, like Ibrahim, a barman in Bamako, take a more pragmatic approach. “I voted for a continuation. If there is a change, the new guy will concentrate on filling his pockets before he looks to fix the country.”