Ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum was declared winner of Niger’s presidential election on Tuesday while his opponent alleged fraud and opposition supporters burned tyres in the streets. Bazoum, a 61-year-old former interior minister, won 55.75% of the vote in Sunday’s election, according to the electoral commission. He beat Mahamane Ousmane, a former president who was toppled by a coup in 1996. The provisional results must still be confirmed by the constitutional court. The election is meant to usher in Niger’s first transition from one democratically elected leader to another, with President Mahamadou Issoufou stepping down after two five-year terms. “I…

Niger votes today (Sunday) in the second round of a presidential election that is expected to usher in the first democratic transition of power since the West African nation gained independence from France in 1960. Ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum is seen by many as the favourite after leading in the first round on Dec. 27 with 39.3% of the vote. He is up against former President Mahamane Ousmane, who scored 17%. Bazoum, a 61-year-old politician who had held several top positions in outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou’s governments including the foreign and interior ministries, is backed by the candidates who…