Mali’s govt says over 700 polling stations couldn’t operate in vote

More than 700 polling stations across Mali were not able to operate in Sunday’s elections, which occurred under the threat of attack by extremists, the government said. It added that the vote elsewhere was carried out under “satisfactory conditions.” It has not announced how many of the West African nation’s 8 million registered voters took part in the election in which 73-year-old President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita seeks a second five-year term, AP said. No voting results have been announced. The 716 stations that did not operate represent over 3 percent of the total. Extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) roam Mali’s north and have pushed into the central part of the country.