Niger held its first-ever presidential run-off yesterday, with Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou on track for a second term after his main challenger was flown from jail to a Paris hospital, and with the opposition boycotting the vote.
The election pits 64-year-old Issoufou, a former mining engineer nicknamed “the Lion,” against jailed opposition leader Hama Amadou, 66, known as “the Phoenix” for his ability to make political comebacks.
Amadou has been forced to campaign from behind bars after being detained on Nov. 14 on baby-trafficking charges he said are bogus and aimed at keeping him out of the race.
Just days before the vote, he was evacuated from prison and flown to Paris for medical treatment, with the government saying he was suffering from an unspecified “chronic ailment.”
On Friday, Amadou’s doctor said his condition was getting better, but added that he would have to remain under observation for “at least 10 days.”
“His health is improving and currently his condition is not life-threatening,” said Luc Karsenty, a doctor at the American Hospital in the chic western Paris suburb of Neuilly.
The situation has created a tense atmosphere in the country where three-quarters of the population live on less than US$2 per day.
Niger’s history is peppered with military coups and it has only had a multiparty democracy since 1990.
The run-up to the first-round vote was marred by violence between supporters of the rival camps, the arrest of several leading political personalities and the government’s announcement that it had foiled a coup bid.
Issoufou, who is seeking a second term in office, took a solid lead with 48.4 percent in the initial vote on Feb. 21, way ahead of Amadou, who scored 17.7 percent. During the campaign, Issoufou, who took office in 2011, repeatedly pledged to bring prosperity to this desolate but uranium-rich country and prevent further Muslim militant attacks.
Just three days before the vote, Niger suffered two militant attacks — one in the west claimed by al-Qaeda’s north African affiliate which killed three gendarmes and another by Boko Haram in which a senior army officer died.
Although Amadou, a former parliamentary speaker, backed Issoufou in 2011, he shifted into opposition in 2013.
His supporters accuse Issoufou’s regime of bad governance, saying it has failed to eradicate poverty in the country.
However, a clear-cut victory appears assured for Issoufou, who missed winning an absolute majority in the first round by just 75,000 votes.
He has managed to secure the support of former deputy cabinet head Ibrahim Yacouba and two other low polling candidates from the initial round.
The opposition coalition has alleged fraud in the first round, claiming “unfair treatment between the two candidates” and has vowed not to recognize the results, even though Amadou has not himself said he would withdraw from the race.
“We are calling on people to stay at home. Issoufou can announce whatever results he likes, that’s of no concern to us,” COPA 2016 opposition coalition spokesman Ousseini Salatou said.
Religious groups, tribal leaders and trade unions have called for calm and dialogue.
Amadou’s imprisonment since November last year in the town of Filingue, about 180km from the capital, Niamey, took a dramatic turn recently with the government saying he was in poor health.
Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8am yesterday and to close 11 hours later, after which the electoral commission has five days to announce the result.
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