About 6.5 million Malian voters go to the polls for the National Assembly election.

On November 24, Malian voters began voting in parliamentary elections, hoping to bring the West African country back to stability after a military coup last year. However, the election is being overshadowed by threats of reprisals from Islamists.

Polling stations officially opened this morning under tight security amid concerns that armed Islamic groups active in the north of the country would launch attacks.

Security was tightened on election day. (Source: AFP)

An estimated 6.5 million voters are eligible to vote for 147 seats in the National Assembly, with a list of more than 1,000 candidates. If no party is qualified to form a government after the November 24 election, a second round will take place on December 15.

The parliamentary elections mark Mali's first steps in recovering from the chaos of the military coup in March 2012. They also complete a political process that began with the presidential election in August, which elected Ibrahim Boubakar Keita.

The above elections will help Mali have competent State institutions and recognized legitimacy to lead the country into the reconstruction process after a crisis that has lasted more than 18 months./.

According to VNA