2016 Nigerien general election

2016 Nigerien general election
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Presidential election
21 February 2016 (first round)
20 March 2016 (second round)
 
Nominee Mahamadou Issoufou Hama Amadou
Party PNDS MODEN/FA
Popular vote 4,105,499 333,143
Percentage 92.49% 7.51%
President before election

Mahamadou Issoufou
PNDS

Elected President

Mahamadou Issoufou
PNDS

Politics of Niger
Constitution (suspended)
Government
National Assembly (dissolved)
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations

General elections were held in Niger on 21 February 2016,[1] with a presidential run-off held on 20 March.[2] A total of 15 candidates ran for the presidency, with incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou running for re-election for a second term.[3] There were two main opposition candidates also vying for the top post, Seyni Oumarou of the National Movement for the Society of Development (MNSD), who lost to Issoufou in 2011, and Hama Amadou of MODEN/FA, who has been campaigning from prison since November 2015.[4] Most of the opposition agreed to align for the second round to back the second-placed candidate against Issoufou.[5]

Niger faced a string of attacks by various insurgents, most notably Boko Haram in the preceding months, and security and poverty alleviation were central to most candidates' campaigns.[5] Various observers predicted minor violence from the opposition who accused the president of rigging the elections.

Issoufou placed first in the first round, but fell just short of an outright majority, necessitating a second round vote in which he faced Hama Amadou. The opposition boycotted the second round, and Issoufou was re-elected with an overwhelming majority (92.49%).

  1. ^ Global elections calendar NDI
  2. ^ "Présidentielle au Niger: l'OIF commence l'examen du fichier électoral" [Presidential in Niger: OIF began its consideration of the electoral register]. Rfi Afrique (in French). Niger: Rfi Afrique. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Niger election begins with a top candidate behind bars". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Niger election: Voters choose president in tense polls". BBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Niger's 'Lion' president Mahamadou Issoufou seeks re-election". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 21 February 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 February 2016.