Niger President Mahamdou Issoufou and presidential candidate Mohamed Bazoum cast their votes on Sunday in Niamey, in an election that is expected to lead to the West African nation’s first transfer of power between two democratically elected presidents.
“Today is a special day for us, it is also and most of all a special day for Niger, which will experience for the first time in its history a democratic changeover, and I hope that this change will be the first step towards other changes in order to solidify our democratic process. I hope this first changeover will enable Niger to solidify its reputation as a democratic country in Africa and in the world,” said Issoufou after casting his vote.
Former interior minister Bazoum, the ruling party’s candidate, is the overwhelming favourite to succeed Issoufou, who is stepping down after two five-year terms leading the country of 23 million.
Bazoum, 60, has promised continuity with Issoufou’s policies, while also vowing to clean up pervasive corruption.
“This date, December 27, 2020, which has been scheduled for over a year and a half, it has been followed, it’s an incredible feat. I give thanks to God to have allowed it to be so. I am very proud of the work done by the CENI (Commission Electorale Nationale Independante),” the 60-year-old told journalists.
A smooth handover would be a rare bright spot for a country blighted by widespread poverty and Islamist violence that has killed hundred of civilians and soldiers in the last year alone.
Niger has experienced four coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.
It would also contrast with Ivory Coast and Guinea, whose presidents this year used constitutional changes to extend their tenures to three terms, raising fears of a democratic backslide in West Africa.
