The state of emergency in place in Mali since January, when France intervened to help drive out Islamists occupying the north, has at last been lifted, officials say.
The decision follows the Malian army entering the key northern town of Kidal, held by Tuareg separatist rebels, to improve security ahead of the presidential election. Rebels agreed to allow troops into the town as part of a peace deal.
The election, to be held on 28 July, will be the first in Mali since the military staged a coup in 2012.
Kidal’s occupation had been a major obstacle to organising the presidential election. Tuareg rebels captured the town after the French-led offensive forced militant Islamists out of northern Mali in February.
The main Tuareg rebel group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), last year joined with Islamist militant groups to capture the country’s north. However, the rebel movement later broke with the Islamist groups and instead backed the French military in ousting them.
28 presidential candidates have been approved by Mali’s constitutional court, including four former prime ministers and a woman.
But the head of the electoral commission, Mamadou Diamoutani, doubts that the elections will be free and fair under the current circumstances.
“Currently, the big challenge is the distribution of 6,867,443 voters’ cards – we have four weeks to do it,” he said. “That job alone is tremendously difficult, given that 800,000 people are displaced or have become refugees.”
