Mali's presidential elections were a "milestone" in restoring peace but a longer term effort is needed to consolidate democracy in the African state, U.N. special envoy Romano Prodi said Thursday.

"The collective focus must now move to embedding democratic institutions, fostering national reconciliation and spearheading development through economic growth and job creation," Prodi said in a statement.

Mali announced Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as its new leader on Thursday after confirming that the ex-prime minister had won a landslide victory in a presidential poll intended to give a fresh start to the conflict-scarred nation.

Figures for Sunday's second-round ballot released on live television by the interior ministry showed Keita won an overwhelming 77.6 percent of the vote, with his rival Soumaila Cisse trailing on 22.4 percent.

President Francois Hollande on Tuesday hailed Mali's presidential election as a victory for democracy and vowed France would "stand by" the west African country.

Hollande, who sent French troops to Mali this year to oust Islamist rebels in the north, will also travel to the country to attend the inauguration of president-elect Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, a source in Hollande's office said.

The United States signaled Monday that it was prepared to resume aid to Mali following a presidential election that paved the way for the return of a democratically elected government.

Marie Harf, deputy spokeswoman at the State Department, hailed the strife-torn country's interim government for "securing a peaceful and orderly environment in which Malians were able to vote."

Malians voted Sunday in a presidential election run-off expected to usher in a new dawn of peace and stability in the conflict-scarred nation, but heavy downpours hampered early turnout.

An electorate of almost seven million was urged to choose between former premier Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-finance minister Soumaila Cisse to lead Mali's recovery following a military coup that ignited an Islamist insurgency and a French-led military intervention.

Around 100 supporters of Mali's main Tuareg rebel group demonstrated Tuesday in the northern city of Kidal to demand the release of fighters detained in Bamako.

"We are marching today to demand that Mali release Tuareg fighters from the MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad) held in Bamako," Moussa Ag Mohamed, a young demonstrator, told Agence France Presse by phone.

Tuareg rebels will fight Mali's newly-elected rulers if no negotiated solution is reached to grant their northern homeland of Azawad autonomy, a senior Tuareg rebel official warned Sunday.

Moussa Ag Assarid, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad's top representative in Europe, was speaking at a forum organised by a separatist Corsican party on the French island.

Mali's presidential election will go to a second round on August 11, the government said Friday, after no candidate secured a majority in the landmark poll.

Figures for Sunday's ballot announced on live television showed former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in the lead with 39.2 percent of the vote, ahead of main rival Soumaila Cisse with 19.4 percent.

The results of a first round of voting in Mali's crunch presidential election will be announced on Friday, a day later than expected, the presidency said.

No explanation was given for the delay, announced by the presidency's Twitter account on Thursday, but an official from the ministry of territorial administration said vote-counting had not been completed following Sunday's poll.

The turnout in Mali's landmark presidential election was around 50 percent, the European Union's top observer said Monday, putting paid to pessimism over the vote's viability.

A good turnout on Sunday among Mali's electorate of seven million had been seen as essential to assuaging grave doubts over whether the outcome would be accepted across the diverse nation's numerous ethnic communities.