A Presidential Election in Mali

Mali may be on the road to normalized politics as early results from its July 28 presidential election have begun to come in. Mali has been under the control of an interim government since the coup in March 2012 and a foreign intervention to deal with militant jihadist groups in the country's northern region. 

Despite a lingering jihadist presence and threats by the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa to attack polling stations in the north, the election took place without security incidents. While no official results are available yet, early reports note that Malian politicians who were active in government prior to the coup are leading the polls, a sign of further normalization of Malian internal politics after the coup and foreign intervention.