Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou won a second term with 92.5 percent of the vote in a run-off election that the opposition coalition chose to boycott, the electoral commission said on Tuesday. Issoufou, an ally of the West in its fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, won the first round comfortably last month with 48 percent of votes but failed to clinch the outright majority required to avoid a second round. The candidate who came second, opposition leader Hama Amadou, has been in jail since November on charges relating to a baby-trafficking scandal, but was flown to France for medical treatment last week. Amadou says he is innocent and claims the charges against him are politically motivated.
But the size of Issoufou’s victory is unlikely to draw significant international criticism, in part because of the boycott, but also because the incumbent has been in power only since 2011.
“The Nigerien people have spoken clearly and unequivocally,” said Issoufou in a statement in which he laid out his plans for a second term, including increasing security and improving the country’s infrastructure. “I hail their political maturity and strong mobilization.”
The Coalition for an Alternative (COPA), which unites about 20 political parties including Amadou’s MODEN, called for a boycott of the polls claiming the process had been tainted by fraud.
Full Article: Boycott helps Niger President Issoufou win re-election – Yahoo News.
