Monday, as they choose a new, civilian president to head one of the
world's poorest countries.
The Sahelian country's 6.7 million registered voters must choose
between three former allies of deposed ex-president Mamadou Tandja and
a longtime opponent of the former leader to head the country under the
shadow of the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Voting booths for the elections -- which include legislative as well
as presidential ones -- open at 8:00 am local time (0700 GMT) and
close at 7:00 pm.
Following a likely second round scheduled for March 12, a civilian
will be named head of the African state on April 6.
The wind-swept capital Niamey was calm Sunday, just hours after the
official end of the campaign at midnight. But posters dotting
virtually deserted streets attested to the political battle ahead.
Several candidates have emerged from a scrum of 10 running for the presidency.
Chief among them is opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou, whose Social
Democratic Party represents change. He faces a challenge, however,
from three other candidates intent on blocking his way.
They include Seini Oumarou, the anointed follower of Tandja, who is
still languishing in jail, and whose National Movement for the
Development of Society he leads.
Former prime minister Hama Amadou is also close to the deposed leader
while Niger's first democratically-elected president in 1993, Mahamane
Ousmane, is trying for another term.
Oumarou, Amadou and Ousmane have created a stir in Niger by forging a
pact meant to deny Issoufou victory should no candidate emerge with an
overall majority and the presidential poll goes to a second round.
In the event one of them finds himself in a head-to-head against the
social democrat the other two will give him their full backing.
True to its word, no member of the ruling junta, which agreed to
preside over a transition to civilian rule, is standing for election
in Monday's polls.
The junta took power in February last year to end a crisis triggered
by then president Tandja's attempts to extend his rule beyond the
constitutionally allowed limits.
Tanja will be following the vote from prison, where he was transferred
in mid-January from house arrest on allegations of financial
misappropriation.
The four leading candidates have organized a flurry of meetings in
recent days after a slow start to their campaigns.
Most candidates had hoped for the election to be delayed, citing a
number of lists for the legislative vote that had been rejected due to
organisational problems.
"The parliament will not be representative," a Western diplomat based
here warned. "It risks not lasting."
All main candidates in the former French colony have similar
platforms, with fighting poverty which afflicts 60 percent of the
population the main goal along with a more equitable distribution of
income, notably from the mining of uranium of which Niger is a leading
producer.
Niger's history of 50 years since independence from Paris has been a
series of coups and military regimes. The past leaves many voters
sceptical about prospects for democracy when most of the candidates
have ties to previous regimes and Tandja is said to be closely
watching developments from his prison cell.
