A former minister and a former president are set to go head-to-head in a presidential run-off election as Niger attempts its first peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence from France 60 years ago.
According to Niger’s Electoral Commission, the candidate representing its ruling party, Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), Mohamed Bazoum, will face former President Mahamane Ousmane in a presidential election run-off. The second round will hold on February 21st after the results from the first round have been validated by the constitutional court, which will hear any appeals.
Earlier provisional results revealed by the commissioned showed that while Bazoum led the first round of the polls with 39.33 per cent of the votes, he failed to win the election as his votes fell short of the 50 per cent or above mark needed to win the first round.
A further breakdown of the initial results shows Ousmane receiving 17 per cent of total votes cast. Former Prime Ministers Seini Oumarou and Albade Abouba came third and fourth respectfully with 8.95 per cent and 7.07 per cent of the ballots, while former Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yacouba, fifth with 5.38% of the votes. Another former president, Salou Djibo, came in sixth with 2.99% of the vote.
Mohamed Bazoum is a former head of Niger’s interior and foreign ministries, and ally of exiting President Mahamadou Issoufou.
First Attempt At A Peaceful Transition
The current election in Nigeria marks its first attempt at a democratic transition of presidential power. Following its independence from France in 1960, the country has witnessed four coups that have presented presidents over the decades.
President Issoufou was elected into the presidency in 2011 after a military coup ousted his predecessor, Mamadou Tandja, in 2010, announced that he would be stepping down from office after serving two five-year terms as president.
Over 5 million of the country’s 23 million population came out to vote despite widespread insecurity in the country that has claimed as much as 20 lives as recently as December 2020.
