Editing History of Mali (section)

=== 2000s ===
Konaré stepped down after his constitutionally mandated limit of two terms and did not run in the 2002 elections.<ref name=":1" /> Touré then reemerged, this time as a civilian.<ref name=":1" /> Running as an independent on a platform of national unity, Touré won the presidency in a runoff against the candidate of Adema, which had been divided by infighting and suffered from the creation of a spin-off party, the [[Rassemblement pour le Mali|Rally for Mali]]. Touré had retained great popularity because of his role in the transitional government in 1991–92.<ref name=":1" /> The 2002 election was a milestone, marking Mali's first successful transition from one democratically elected president to another, despite the persistence of electoral irregularities and low voter turnout.<ref name=":1" /> In the 2002 legislative elections, no party gained a majority; Touré then appointed a politically inclusive government and pledged to tackle Mali's pressing social and economic development problems.<ref name=":1" />