The next president must act against the rebels, it is the great concern of Niger that we must take care of, we want calm and security. Idrissa Gado, a 29-year-old student, interviewed by our colleagues from Agence France-Presse, was invited to vote on Sunday in a second round, unprecedented, of course, but during which the security issue was cruelly imposed. Indeed, while the vote took place in general calm, the day was mourned by the death of seven local members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Ceni) whose vehicle jumped on a mine in Waraou, a locality. located in the town of Dargol in the Tillabéri region, about a hundred kilometers from Niamey. This is the so-called “three borders” area between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The tragedy occurred in the morning, as confirmed by the governor of this region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, specifying that the explosion also left “three injured”.
At the beginning of January, already, after the first round of the presidential election, a hundred people had been killed in the attack on two villages in the same region of Tillabéri, one of the worst massacres of civilians in this Sahel country regularly targeted by jihadist groups. Insecurity is particularly rife in this “three-border zone” in the west with attacks by jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic State organization, but also in the east hit by attacks by Nigerian jihadists from Boko Haram.
A historic day, despite the insecurity
The voting day was shaping up to be historic for the country. Some 7.4 million Nigeriens, out of a population of 22 million, were called upon to choose for this second round, one month after the first, between Mohamed Bazoum (39.3% of the vote), loyal to the outgoing Mahamadou Issoufou, and the opposing Mahamane Ousmane (17% of the vote), former president. “It is a painful moment, it is a great shock for us, for all of us, at a historic moment in our country”, declared the Nigerien Minister of the Interior, Alkache Alhada, speaking of “despicable act” and “barbarian”. “A suspect was arrested, a Nigerien,” he said and polling stations closed in the area after the explosion. He accused those who posed the mine “of creating situations of horror, and we will not allow this country to turn into a medieval dictatorship, because that is their objective”. He also mentioned “some minor incidents […] without much impact on the conduct of the elections ”.
Power candidate Mohamed Bazoum voted at Niamey town hall, where armored vehicles and machine gun pickups provided security. “I wish that the winner has the chance with him, I wish that she is on my side”, he said after having deposited his ballot, also wishing “that the vote takes place in the calm one”.
Accompanied by his two wives, outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou voted in the same place, noting that “Niger is facing immense challenges”, notably security, demographic, climatic, economic, social and health with the Covid-19. “I am proud to be the first democratically elected president in our history to be able to pass the baton on to another democratically elected president, it is a major event in the political life of our country,” he added. It will be the first time that two elected presidents have succeeded each other in this country with a history of coups d’état since its independence in 1960.
Le PR, SEM @IssoufouMhm as well as the First Ladies fulfilled their civic duty by voting on Sunday morning, February 21, 2021, at the Polling Center of the Town Hall of Niamey, reserved for officials, as part of the presidential election 2nd round. pic.twitter.com/KwwKAYyPV1
– Presidency of Niger (@PresidenceNiger) February 21, 2021
Mahamane Ousmane, for his part, voted in a popular district of Zinder (South East), his stronghold and hometown, rejoicing that Nigeriens have “mobilized to exercise their rights and duties”. But, “if ever the citizens find that these elections are still […] rigged elections, well, I’m afraid the situation will be difficult to manage ”. Between the two rounds, the opposition said they would not recognize the results if they felt they were tainted with fraud. The real success of the ballot will lie in the acceptance of the results by all parties once the results have been announced. The opposition denounced alleged fraud in the first round, but was dismissed by the courts.
Counting in progress
But if the vote in the capital is historically acquired by the opposition, that of the second city of the country, Zinder, is more uncertain: this region, an important electoral basin, is the stronghold of the two candidates who spent the last days of the election there. the campaign to try to convince their constituents. “The result in Zinder will be decisive for the outcome of the ballot”, according to an observer of local politics. The Ceni is watching. The institution has already denounced the same day in a statement “the circulation of false ballots” in several regions of the country.
Several delegations of foreign observers were deployed to monitor the ballot, notably from the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) and La Francophonie. During the first round, held against a backdrop of insecurity, 69.7% of voters went to the polls. Who will win in the end? Nothing is played. In the meantime, the electoral process is ongoing, the ballots began to be counted in the evening, but the results will not be known for several days.
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