( CNN ) -- A Malian presidential candidate conceded to his opponent Monday , a day after a runoff election in the nation rattled in the past year by a coup and insurgent Islamists . Former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse conceded to former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on social media . `` My family & myself went to Mr. Keita , the future president of Mali , congratulate him on his victory . God bless you , '' he said on Twitter . On his official Facebook page , Cisse issued a statement : . `` Dear citizens , dear friends : . To those who have been following me and supporting me here on this page for so many months , I would like to tell you that my family and I went tonight at Mr. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita , who will be our next President of the Republic to congratulate him on his victory in the presidential election . '' In the first round of voting last month , Keita won nearly 40 % of the vote , while Cisse garnered close to 20 % . Keita ran for office in 2002 and 2007 . He lost both times , most recently to Amadou Toumani Toure . Toure was ousted by a faction of the military in March of last year , plunging Mali , a landlocked country in West Africa , into chaos . A group of outraged soldiers accused the government of not providing adequate equipment to battle ethnic Tuareg rebels roaming the vast desert land in the north . Disgruntled , the soldiers marched to the palace . A few hours later , a soldier appeared on state television and said the military was in control of the nation . The coup leader later stepped down and transferred power to a civilian transitional government . But uncertainty reigned . Islamic extremists , some with ties to al Qaeda , capitalized on the coup . They toppled the Tuareg tribe roaming in the north and seized control of Timbuktu and other cities in the region . They carved out a large portion of the region and began instituting their own laws . Saved from Islamists , Timbuktu 's manuscripts face new threat . They banned music , smoking , drinking and watching sports on television , and destroyed historic tombs and shrines in the north . World leaders feared that the al Qaeda-linked militants would turn the area into a terrorist haven . Their victories prompted a French-led military campaign in January to flush out the insurgents . France has a close tie to Mali after holding it as a colony from 1898 to 1960 . A successful election would allow France to withdraw some of the troops it put in place to halt Islamist militants from advancing toward the capital , Bamako . French troops and United Nations peacekeepers still patrol the streets of the fragile north . CNN 's Larry Register contributed to this report from Atlanta , and journalist Katarina Hoije contributed from Bamako .
President Cisse supported his opponent , Ibrahim Ali ##i , on social media . The former government officials were the top two in a vote last month . A new constitution would allow France to withdraw some troops sent to northern Iraq .