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36 CHAPTER 1held in Kidal between 1946 and 1956 in full. 32 From the number of KelTamasheq who cast their vote at each election, he concludes that the Kel Adaghhad no interest whatsoever in elections. Yet, looking at the material he presents,one comes to the conclusion that numbers drop whenever elections for theNational Assembly in Paris are held, but rise with elections for the TerritorialAssembly in Bamako. In other words, the Kel Adagh, indeed probably the leastinterested of all the Kel Tamasheq in party politics, show an increase in interestwhen territorial affairs are concerned. Furthermore, as Boilley remarks as well,in those elections where nomad candidates from other tribes presented themselves,the Kel Adagh interest rose. Unlike the Kel Adagh, other Kel Tamasheq,such as those inhabiting the Timbuktu region or the Niger Bend, did express aninterest in elections and party politics comparable to that of their sedentaryneighbours, or even surpassing it. In 1957, the Commandant de Cercle inGoundam noticed thatIf the sedentary population is hardly informed on news from the outside world (withthe evident exception of some civil servants and other literati), the nomads on thecontrary are more and more interested in the outside world. It is for that matter verydifficult to know exactly what sources they have and how from camp to camp thenews is transformed into spectacular but seldom unfounded rumour. 33When it comes to the active participation of Tamasheq and Bidân leaders inthe new-style politics of the post-war period, the number of players was low.But those who did play did so at high levels and high stakes. The main reasonsfor the low number of active Tamasheq politicians were threefold. First, theywere removed from the political centre. Party politics was an urban phenomenonin late colonial Soudan Français. Second, they did lack interest. MostTamasheq tribal chiefs, the main intermediaries between state and subject, asmany other forms of state infrastructure (schools, medical service, army) wereabsent in nomad areas, depended on French dominance. They did not feel theneed to invest in the new political opportunities. When they did take an interest,they adhered to the PSP, which promoted their interests as chiefs. Third, anargument often put forward by some Kel Tamasheq and scholars alike: theylacked French education. Only a very small part of the Tamasheq world hadaccess to French education, and this only at the lowest levels. In the Adagh and3233Boilley, P. 1999: 272-280. The difference in the number of casted votes can also beexplained by the fact that the Kel Adagh had no political representative of their ownin Bamako, and had grown weary of the enormous amount of elections organised bythe French. As the amenokal Attaher ag Illi summed it up: ‘There are too manyelections, he said, and too many taxes’ (Inspection des Affaires Administratives duCercle de Kidal, 1937-57. ANM – FR 2D-20/1957).Territoire du Soudan Français, Cercle de Goundam. Revue mensuelle du mois deJuillet 1957. ACG.