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Sunday 21 Feb 2016 - 13:35 Makkah mean time-12-5-1437
Niger's presidential election (Photo: Reuters)
Niamey (IINA) – Voters in Niger headed to the polls Sunday in a presidential election in which the incumbent president is running for reelection with a promise to crush militant extremists and develop the country's economy.
A total of 7.5 million people are eligible to vote at 25,000 polling stations across the arid country on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The results are expected within five days.
In an interview with AFP on Thursday, President Mahamadou Issoufou said he was "absolutely" confident of victory and predicted a runoff second-round vote would not be needed, pointing to his campaign slogan "Promises met".
Issoufou said he had met his pledges on growth and infrastructure, while shoring up security in the face of attacks by extremists from neighboring Nigeria, Mali and Libya.
Nigerian-based Boko Haram has staged a series of attacks in recent months, forcing the authorities to declare a state of emergency in Diffa region, in the extreme southeast of Niger, near the border with Nigeria.
AB/IINA
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