Thu Mar 04 2021
The first round of the presidential election in Niger Republic went peacefully and it was hailed worldwide. It was generally believed that the election was free and fair because the president of the republic, Mahamdou Issoufou, and the electoral commission were impartial. Mohamed Bazoum led in the first round of the election with 39.33% of the vote, which more than double the votes scored by his main challenger, former president Mohamane Ousmane who got 16.99%.
Since neither candidate obtained an absolute majority, the election went for a second round on February 21. Mr. Bazoum, former interior minister and candidate of the ruling party, won the rerun with 55.75% of the votes, while the opposition candidate Mohamane Ousmane got 44.25%. It is generally believed that the gap between the two narrowed because Hama Amadou, a former prime minister who was barred from running in the election, threw his support behind the opposition candidate, Ousmane. Amadou was excluded because he had previously served a one-year jail term for child trafficking.