DATE=04/30/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-289279

TITLE=MALI / VOTE COUNT (S)

BYLINE=LUIS RAMIREZ

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

/// WILL BE UPDATED AS NEW RESULTS ANNOUNCED ///

INTRO: In Mali, final election results have yet to be published following Sunday's presidential elections. V-O-A's Luis Ramirez at our West Africa Bureau in Abidjan reports officials abruptly halted the tabulation of votes on Monday.

TEXT: Election organizers stopped publishing results, saying the only computer technician who had the password to the machine that is tabulating the votes at a central location had suffered what officials described as a serious car accident.

The elections were carried out in an atmosphere of calm on Sunday, and voter turnout was reported to be about 40 percent.

A total of 24 candidates ran in the poll to succeed outgoing President Alpha Oumar Konare, who is stepping down after serving the maximum two, five-year terms allowed by the Constitution.

Early returns showed three candidates in the lead -- former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, former transition leader Amadou Toumani Toure, and former cabinet minister Soumaila Cisse, who ran on the ruling party's ticket.

According to Mali's electoral laws, final results are due by Friday. If no candidate wins a majority, a second round of voting will be held on May 12th.

NEB/LR/JWH/MEM