"A strong Mali; a new Mali; Mali above all; Mali, our pride; the Mali of our ambitions."the 27 candidates have all been singing pretty much the same tune, pledging to reconcile the country, rebuild and root out corruption.Mali has never fallen so low, they say, and it must never happen again.The two top challengers are longtime fixtures on Mali's political scene:former prime minister and current National Assembly deputy from Bamako Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and a technocrat from Timbuktu, Soumaila Cisse.Keita was the longtime opponent of the president ousted by the coup in March 2012. His track record of fierce nationalism and tough talk have won him points with voters.Keita was the first candidate to campaign in the northern rebel stronghold of Kidal, which will vote Sunday despite ongoing tensions."Mali needs to come back together," he told voters."The fabric of our society has been torn apart.Mali needs to return to the state of brotherhood and solidarity that it has always been.This is what I wish for Mali, and, God willing, it is what I will do."His top rival, Soumaila Cisse, was a government minister in the 1990's who then ran the West African Monetary Union for seven years.
