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· Of the 266 electoral districts counted, the ruling party under is leading in 156 seats
· With 156 out of 266 electoral districts counted, the Bazoum, the present Interior Minister in President Mahamadou Issoufou’s ministry has crossed the one million vote mark
· His closest rival – Mahamane Ousmane was in second place with 425,000 votes, the National Electoral Commission (CENI) said a communiqué.
Part results of the Niger are out. It suggests that the ruling party is on course to retain the rule. Of the 266 electoral districts counted, the ruling party under is leading in 156 seats
With 156 out of 266 electoral districts counted, the Bazoum, the present Interior Minister in President Mahamadou Issoufou’s ministry has crossed the one million vote mark. His closest rival – Mahamane Ousmane was in second place with 425,000 votes, the National Electoral Commission (CENI) said a communiqué.
The former interior minister in President Mahamadou Issoufou’s government is aiming for a first-round victory. This has never happened in the country before. Bazoum has promised to focus on security and education, especially for young girls. Niger is known for child marriage and lower education levels particularly for women. The country has the highest fertility rate for women -almost 7 children per woman.
The next president will have many challenges to face upfront. Among them are sporadic militant attacks that have killed hundreds of people since 2010, making a large number of people flee the country to neighboring states. The United Nation has flagged this issue to the State authorities. The first challenge of the ruling party and its leader is to address this issue so that peace nod order is back in the country. The UN estimates show that over 500,000 refugees had fled the country.
Despite the adverse internal situation prevailing in the country, Niger is looking for a smooth democratic transition of rule when the present president Issoufou would hand over the power after the end of his 10-year tenure.
