Veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou was declared winner on Monday of a presidential poll, ending a year-long military junta in Niger, which remains deeply poor despite massive uranium reserves.
In his fifth shot at the country’s top job, the 59-year-old leader of the Social Democratic Party won 58 percent of the vote, Niger electoral commission head Gousmane Abdourahamane said at a ceremony in Niamey.
Former Nigerien prime minister Seini Oumarou, 60, took 42 percent of the votes in Sunday’s run-off poll.
The election in the vast desert nation, which has a history of coups, is aimed at returning democracy after former Nigerien president Mamadou Tandja was ousted by the army in February last year.
Dressed in a traditional flowing white boubou robe and red hat, Issoufou said at a press conference at his home that the population had voted with “wisdom, in calm, transparently, showing great political maturity.”
Surrounded by security and supporters, he also thanked the outgoing junta for its tact and responsibility.
The president-elect wasted no time in speaking out on regional issues, saying that incumbent Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo must cede power to his rival in a post-election stand-off.
“The Ivorian people have chosen, the verdict of the poll must be respected, the winner of the presidential election is Alassane Dramane Ouattara and he must lead the country,” Issoufou said
Thousands of Nigerien citizens living in Ivory Coast have already fled the violence sparked by a post-electoral crisis and imports to Niger from the regional heavyweight have fallen sharply, according to Niger’s commerce ministry.
Observers from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and France lauded Niger for its peaceful election and said the poll was a model for the rest of the continent.
The run-off brought political champions from opposite ends of the political spectrum face to face, Issoufou being an historic opponent of Tandja’s regime with Oumarou the self-proclaimed “heir” of the fallen president.
Issoufou, who led after the first round on Jan. 31, strengthened his push for the presidency by -forging alliances, especially with Hama Amadou, another former premier under Tandja, who garnered 19 percent in the first round vote.
During the election campaign, both candidates promised to dissolve parliament and organize legislative elections for a more representative assembly in the vast, landlocked country on the edge of the Sahara desert.
They vowed to tackle the poverty that afflicts about 60 percent of the population, find protection against cyclical food crises and ensure an equitable distribution of the wealth from uranium.
Voter turnout was just more than 48 percent, down from 51.5 percent in the first round.
The provisional results announced on Monday must be sent to the Niger Constitutional Council, which has 15 days to proclaim the final outcome. Issoufou is due to be sworn in on April 6.
After a decade in power, Tandja had plunged the country into crisis when he attempted to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limits.
The military junta that overthrew him vowed to usher in a civilian government and none of its members ran in the election.
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