The second round of the presidential election is taking place in Niger on Sunday, which could lead to the first democratic transfer of power since the country’s independence in 1960. The favorites are the winner of the first round and the candidate of the ruling party, Mohamed Bazoum. On election day in the southwest of the country, seven members of the local election commission died when their car hit a mine, local authorities said.
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Print
Copy the url address
Abbreviated address
Close
Niger decides on president in second round of elections Photo: STRINGER | Source: Reuters
The 61-year-old Bazoum, who held top positions in the governments of outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou, won the first round on December 27 with more than 39 percent of the vote. In the second round, he was supported by candidates who finished third and fourth in the first round. In the campaign, Bazoum promised to focus on fighting Islamist insurgents and start an economy affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
In the first round, 17 percent of voters favored 71-year-old Ousmane, who in 1993 became the first democratically elected head of state. Three years later, however, he was removed from office by a military coup. Unlike Bazoum, he presents himself as a candidate for change. For the second round, he was supported by more than ten smaller political parties.
Environment context
Niger, located in the Sahel and has a population of approximately 24 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The pandemic hit the local economy hard, weakened mainly by falling prices for uranium’s main export commodity. Frequent floods and droughts also cause economic problems.
Niger is facing Islamist uprisings on its western borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, where militants linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist organizations have launched a series of bloody attacks in recent years. At the beginning of January, about a hundred people died in the attack on two villages near the border with Mali.
Mali, Niger a Čad. Zapojení českých vojáků do protiteroristické operace v Africe má zelenou od vlády
Číst článek
Podél jihovýchodní hranice s Nigérií působí další islamistická skupina Boko Haram. Její útoky si vyžádaly stovky životů a tisíce lidí kvůli bojům opustily své domovy.
Několik desítek kilometrů od hranice s Mali se v neděli stalo neštěstí, když auto volební komise najelo na minu. Sedm lidí při incidentu u vesnice Dargol zhruba 100 kilometrů od Niamey zemřelo, další tři jsou zranění.
„Jeli odevzdat hlasovací urny a odvézt pracovníky volebních místností domů,“ sdělil Reuters Harouna Mounkaila, místopředseda lokální volební komise.
Sdílet na Facebooku
Sdílet na LinkedIn
Tisknout
Kopírovat url adresu
Zkrácená adresa
Zavřít
#Niger #decides #president #members #commission #died #election #day #iROZHLAS
