Malians head to polls

BAMAKO: Voters in Mali will be called out on Sunday to complete long-delayed legislative elections, defying a Jihadist insurgency and the lengthening shadow of coronavirus.

The elections aim at reviving faith in political institutions at one of the darkest times since Mali gained independence from France nearly half a century ago. One of the poorest nations in the world is battling Jihadists who have claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes. "In a democracy, nothing is as important as full constitutional legality and the normal array of institutions," President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said this week ahead of the vote.