EU says satisfied with Mali's legislative polls

BAMAKO - EU observers deployed to Mali to monitor the second round of the West African country's legislative polls have expressed satisfaction with the vote.

The head of the European Union Electoral Observer Mission in Mali, Louis Michel, on Monday hailed the conduct of Sunday's polls in a preliminary report of the observer mission.

Michel said the country has re-established democratic conditions that will enable it to concentrate on development, education and reconciliation.

He affirmed the good organization and peaceful conduct of the elections, despite a few logistical challenges that did not pose a major threat to the legitimacy of the polls.

He said Malian authorities had worked with a lot of professionalism, given the logistical, material, financial and human conditions during the elections.

"The conduct of the December 15 elections met acceptable international standards," he told reporters in the Malian capital Bamako, congratulating the Malian people and all those who took part in the elections for advancing the country's democratic process.

Michel had initially led the EU mission to monitor Mali's presidential elections in July and August this year.