Bamako, Mali — Vote counting after Sundays presidential election in Mali began almost as soon as polling stations closed their doors at 18h00 local (and GMT) in the capital, Bamako.
This was after voting was delayed from a scheduled 08h00 start in the morning, for up to two hours in some areas, while officials and agents patiently waited for transparent ballot boxes and papers, indelible ink - and in some cases, polling station chiefs who had overslept.
Once the local difficulties were overcome, voters were able to cast their ballots to choose, from among a record 24 candidates, who will succeed President Alpha Oumar Konare as the next democratically elected leader of Mali.
Outside Bamako, in Malis second city, Segou (240km north of the capital), there were also reports of disorganization. But by late morning, voting had begun in earnest.
Polling upcountry was said to be a little more enthusiastic than in Bamako, where journalists noted many half-empty ballot boxes with what seemed an insignificant number of envelopes inside, indicating perhaps a poor turnout in the city.
Sluggish voting continued on a hot day in the capital until the polls closed.
Thousands of Malians, living across the border in Cote dIvoire, in the Central African Republic, in France and elsewhere also voted on Sunday at their embassies.
Mobile polling booths, hoisted onto camels and heavy-duty vehicles, were on hand for voters among the large nomadic communities living in Mali's desert.
There were some reports of irregularities, including late starts, missing ballot papers and even a few scuffles and minor incidents.
On Sunday, one person was reported to have been arrested after he tried to use a student identity card that apparently did not belong to him.
Two other cases of fraud, involving thousands of missing voting cards, were reported earlier. They authorities have warned that cheats will face the full force of the law.
The results of the presidential poll, in which more than 5.7 million people in and outside Mali were eligible to vote, are expected on Tuesday night, though early returns should be published on Monday. If no one candidate wins an outright majority of more than 50% in the first round, a run-off will be held on 12 May.
After voting with his wife, Assitan, at the town hall in Bamako, former finance minister Soumaila Cisse, 53, standing for the governing Alliance for Democracy in Mali (Adema) party of outgoing President Alpha Oumar Konare, told reporters he was positive about the poll. He called it a "turning point and challenge" that one constitutionally elected leader was handing over power to another duly elected president for the first time.
Cisses ballot papers were the only ones to have a special feature, bordered in a distinctive dark green.
He ran his campaign with the assistance of a helicopter - a first in Mali - 'wowing potential voters in the farther reaches of this giant and poor Sahelian nation, which measures 1,2 million km2. Gone are the days when presidential candidates campaigned on horseback, on camels or even in 4x4 vehicles, Cisse told journalists.
He also bragged about achieving other firsts: that he was probably the first presidential candidate to have his own web site, the first to print a campaign comic-strip brochure and to travel around 45 of the widely dispersed 49 constituencies in Mali. Cisse also said he expected to win outright in the first round.
Other presidential candidates were more modest and used their words sparingly.
Amadou Toumani Toure, 54, a retired army general and former military head of state who won the hearts of many Malians when he overthrew an autocratic one-party regime in 1991, said little after he voted at the Airforce Base in central Bamako.
"I hope that the elections come up to our high expectations. I hope there is a good turnout and that everything is well organized," said the man who is universally known by his initials ATT. He is standing as an independent candidate, with the support of 27 of Malis 80 political parties. But ATT declined to predict who would win the presidential poll, saying only that he was "ready for any outcome".
Speculation has been rife in Mali that ATT has the unofficial support of Konare, who will stand down as Malis leader in 40 days, after a decade in power. The constitution bars the outgoing president from seeking a third five-year term.
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ATT and Cisse are considered among the most serious front runners in the race for the presidency, along with the charismatic former prime minister, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 57. Known simply as IBK, Keita defected from Konares Adema and set up his own party, taking some government 'big hitters' with him.
Other challengers in the running, with less chance of victory, are the influential opposition leader and lawyer, Mountaga Tall, 46; Moussa Balla Coulibaly, dubbed 'the bosses boss and the veteran of the group at 68; and Tiebile Drame, 47, formerly a human rights lawyer with Amnesty International.
Choguel Kokalla Maiga, 44, is another presidential candidate. Maiga unashamedly calls himself a disciple of the disgraced former military leader, Moussa Traore, who was driven from power in a popular uprising, led by ATT in 1991 and now lives under permanent house arrest with his wife.
The joker in the pack of presidential hopefuls is the best known stand-up comedian in Mali, Habib Dembele, 41, nicknamed Guimba. Guimba, who is also an author, has promised to make voters laugh, while the politicians make them cry.
