Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will run for re-election this July. He is widely expected to seek a second five-year term as president.

The 73-year-old leader had been widely expected to seek a second five-year term in the troubled Sahel nation.

The election is set for July 29, with a second round planned for August 12 if no candidate obtains an absolute majority of votes.

Keita will face around a dozen challengers, including Modibo Kone, a rural development expert at the West African Development Bank, and Hamadoun Toure, who runs the “Smart Africa” initiative to drive development on the continent via technology.

Planned elections have been repeatedly postponed since 2013, in part because of security concerns with regards to extremists and militants.