In an interview with La Roue de l’Histoire, one of Niger’s top newspapers, President-elect Mohamed Bazoum has been looking among other things at the challenges that lie ahead of his presidency.
How do you assess the conduct of Sunday’s presidential election?
Despite some irregularities, including the National Independent Electoral Commission seizing false ballots in Dogondoutchi (South West) and the terrorist attack that killed seven people in Dorgol, in the Tillabéri region (far west), the vote was generally conducted in a calm and serene atmosphere.
The election of Mohamed Bazoum at the head of Niger opens a new page in the history of the country. For the first time since independence in 1960, a democratically elected president passes the baton to another by the same process.
What are the main challenges of the new president?
The head of state will face challenges of several kinds. The first is the fight against jihadism. Five of the eight regions in Niger are affected by this phenomenon including Diffa, Tillabéri, Tahoua, Agadez and Maradi.
Niger is surrounded by hotbeds of insecurity on four of its borders. In the North, since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, the situation has deteriorated.
On its south-eastern border with Nigeria, the Diffa region, close to the federal states of Borno and Yobe, has been the target of terrorist attacks since February 2015.
In the west of the country, the localities along the borders between Mali and Burkina Faso are subject to almost daily attacks. It is in this territory called the Tri-border area that agents of the Electoral Commission were killed on February 21, the very day of the elections.
Apart from the security challenge, there is the issue of employment and employability of young people, food security, health and education. Bazoum has put a strong emphasis on the education of young girls in its campaign programme.
In order to ensure that they study up to at least 3rd grade, he mentioned the creation of school canteens, especially in nomadic areas and in localities where the population is extremely vulnerable.
On the political front, Mahamadou Issoufou’s successor has his work cut out for him. With a political class that everything opposes. In his first speech after the proclamation of the provisional results, the former Minister of the Interior appealed to his challenger, Mahamane Ousmane, and to the entire political class to unite and work for the development of Niger.
Has Mouhamadou Issoufou decided to respect the Constitution by not running for the presidency? What meaning do you give to this act of the incumbent president?
The decision not to run for a third term, in a sub-region where the temptation is very strong, has been welcomed by the entire African continent and even the international community. Through this attitude, Issoufou inscribed his name in gold letters in the annals of Niger’s political history. Moreover, he can serve as a model for Mohamed Bazoum in terms of respect for the Constitution.
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