Veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou is to face ex-Prime Minister Seini Oumarou in a run-off in Niger’s first election since last year’s coup, officials say.<\/p>\n
Full results from January’s first round are to be released shortly.
\nBut election commission head Gousmane Abdourahamane confirmed the two would face each other in a second round.
\nMr Oumarou is a close ally of Mamadou Tandja, ousted by the army in 2010 amid criticism for seeking a third term.
\nMilitary ruler Salou Djibo has promised to hand power to an elected leader before April.
\nFor the 12 March run-off, Mr Oumarou is expected to be backed by a broad coalition, including the party of the third-placed candidate, Hama Amadou.
\nHe also served as a prime minister under Mr Tandja.
\nMr Oumarou heads the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) of Mr Tandja.
\nA candidate needed more than 50% of the vote to be elected in the first round.
\nVoters were also choosing a new parliament.
\nA new constitution was passed in a referendum in October. This reduces the powers of future presidents and limits them to two terms in office.
\nNiger is one of the world’s poorest countries but has large deposits of uranium in the north, under the Sahara Desert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou is to face ex-Prime Minister Seini Oumarou in a run-off in Niger’s first election since last year’s coup, officials say. Full results from January’s first round are to be released shortly. But election commission head Gousmane Abdourahamane confirmed the two would face each other in a second round. Mr Oumarou […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n