BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s interim leader says the country’s presidential vote will take place on July 28 after months of speculation about the date.
On a visit to Belgium ahead of a donors’ conference for Mali, President Dioncounda Traore also said Tuesday that neither he nor any member of the transitional government would run for office.
A field of about a dozen candidates is expected to take part in the election, which faces significant logistical and security challenges.
Some critics have questioned how the vote can go forward when hundreds of thousands of Malians remain displaced.
Radical jihadists have launched a series of suicide bombings across the north, raising fears for the safety of the vote, which comes more than a year after a coup toppled the previous government.
