Violent protests rock Niger over disputed election result | General news

Supporters of the losing Nigerian presidential candidate burned tires, threw stones and set fire to several buildings on Thursday, in a third day of violent protests in the capital Niamey.

Niger’s electoral commission on Tuesday declared ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum the winner in Sunday’s run-off election with 55.75 percent of the vote, but his rival, Mahamane Ousmane, a former president, alleged a fraud and claimed to have won with 50.3%.

The election is supposed to lead to the first transition from one democratically elected leader to another after four coups d’état since independence from France in 1960. President Mahamadou Issoufou resigns after two five-year terms.

The national prosecutor said Wednesday evening that several people had been arrested during the protests. Internet access has also been severely restricted since Wednesday.

On Thursday, small groups of Ousmane supporters took to the streets again to throw stones at police and national guards, who responded by firing tear gas.

Some protesters torched private homes, including that of Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent Moussa Kaka, a Reuters witness said.

RFI said in a statement that Kaka and her family were safe and condemned what she called “a serious attack on press freedom”.

Ousmane, who was president from 1993 to 1996 when he was overthrown by the military, said on Wednesday he reserved the right to appeal the election result to the courts.

An observer mission from the Economic Community of West African States declared that the vote had taken place “under free, fair, credible and transparent conditions”.

However, it was marred by two attacks that killed eight electoral officials in parts of Niger where Islamist militants regularly target civilians and soldiers.