Niger political veterans face off in presidential vote
NIAMEY: Niger voted yesterday in a presidential run-off between two heavyweights that is set to bring about the first democratic transition of power in the coupprone country’s history.
The world’s poorest nation according to the UN’s development benchmark covering 189 countries, Niger is also struggling with jihadist insurgencies that have spilled over from Mali and Nigeria.
Only 7.4 million of the country’s 22 million population are eligible to vote yesterday – the rest are under-age.
Thousands of soldiers are deployed across the country for the vote, which is on track to usher in a peaceful handover between elected presidents, its first since independence from France in 1960.
Outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou’s decision to voluntarily step down after two five-year terms was welcomed in a region where many leaders have tried to cling on to power.
His successor will either be his right-hand man and anointed successor Mohamed Bazoum or Mahamane Ousmane, who became the country’s first democratically- elected president in 1993, only to be toppled in a coup three years later.
Ousmane, 71, is running for president for the fifth time since his ouster.
Both candidates are stalwarts of Niger’s political scene.
One voter, 29-year-old student Idrissa Gado, said the election is a ‘source of pride’ for Nigeriens.
“The next president must act against the rebels, it’s the great concern in Niger that must be dealt with, we want peace and security,” he said as he cast his ballot in the capital Niamey.
Winning votes alone has not always led to power in Niger – there have been four military coups and six elections since independence.
But political alliances will loom large yesterday, when Bazoum will be the strong favourite after winning 39.3 per cent of the first round vote on Dec 27.
The 60-year-old former interior minister has already sealed the support of the candidates who came third and fourth in the first round.