Former Malian prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra said on Tuesday he was standing for president in the July elections.
Diarra spent just eight months at the head of the deeply-divided west African nation last year before being forced to step down.
“I am running because a great many Malian people have requested that I carry their hopes for the future of Mali,” he said.
“I cannot remain indifferent to their desire. The debate will be very interesting and I don’t want to run from it.”