Loven medførte endvidere, at Wataras tilhængere, især muslimer fra den nordlige del af landet, med succes boykottede valget, hvorved deltagelsen ikke var højere end 40%, hvilket var for lidt til at give den nye præsident et troværdigt mandat.
Another consequence of the law was that Watara 's supporters, particularly Muslims from the north of the country, managed to successfully boycott the elections, which meant that the turnout was no higher than 40%, i. e. too low to give the new president a credible mandate.