Mali to hold elections by July 31 as nations pledge $455 m in aid

Malian President Dioncounda Traore said Tuesday he hoped to hold elections in his war-torn nation by July 31.

Traore, the acting head of state, said he was determined "to organize as soon as possible...or before July 31, 2013, clean elections that are transparent and credible."

Speaking in the Ethiopian capital, he thanked the "entire international community" as nations pledged $455.5 million at a donor conference on Tuesday for military operations against Islamist militants in northern Mali and humanitarian aid.

Info-graphic: Support for war-torn Mali (Design by Farwa Rizwan/ Al Arabiya English)

"I would like to reiterate our commitment to lead the transition in Mali with a single agenda -- the recovery of the occupied areas but also, and especially, the return of a normal constitutional situation to Mali," he added.

The organisation of elections and liberation of northern Mali are part of the key tasks set for the transitional authorities, put in place following a coup last year.

United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the African Union on Sunday, had called on Malian authorities to adopt an "inclusive political process", that would lead to "the full restoration of constitutional order."