Republic of Niger: President, 21 February 2016

At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of the Republic of Niger

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President ISSOUFOU Mahamadou (since 7 April 2011)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Brigi RAFINI (since 7 April 2011)
• Assembly: Niger has a unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) with 113 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term. The President is limited to two 5-year terms.

Last Election:

• Presidential elections were held on 31 January 2011 and 12 March 2011 following the February 2010 military coup that ousted President Mamadou TANDJA. In the first round of voting, ISSOUFOU Mahamadou and Seyni OUMAROU received the most votes, with neither candidate gaining an absolute majority. As a result, a run-off was held on 12 March 2011, during which ISSOUFOU received 58% of the vote, compared to 42% for OUMAROU.

Election Results:

• ISSOUFOU Mahamadou won the most votes, but was unable to secure the 50% needed for an absolute majority. There will likely be a runoff election, scheduled tentatively for 20 March 2016 between ISSOUFOU and second-place finisher Hama AMADOU.

Main candidates in the election:

• ISSOUFOU Mahamadou
  • Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism / Parti Nigérien pour la Démocratie et le Socialism (PNDS)
• Hama AMADOU
  • Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation / Mouvement Démocratique Nigérien pour une Fédération Africain (MODEN/FA)
• Seyni OUMAROU
  • National Movement for the Development of Society / Mouvement National pour le Société du Développement (MNSD)
• Mahamane OUSMANE
  • Nigerien Movement for Democratic Renewal / Mouvement des Nigériens pour la Renouveau Démocratique (MNRD-Hankouri)
• Amadou CISSÉ
  • Union for Democracy and the Republic / Union pour la Démocratie et la République (UDR-TABBAT)
• Amadou CHEIFFOU
  • Social-Democratic Rally / Rassemblement Social-Démocrate (RSD)
• Abdou LABO
  • Democratic and Social Convention / Convention Démocratique et Sociale (CDS)
• Moctar KASSOUM
  • Convergence for the Republic / Convergence pour la République
• Mahamane HAMISSOU
  • Justice and Development Party / Parti pour la Justice et le Développement
• Ibrahim YACOUBA
  • Nigerien Patriotic Movement / Mouvement Patriotique Nigérien
• Adal RHOUBEID
  • Democratic Movement for Renewal / Mouvement Démocratique pour le Renouveau (MDR-Tarna)
• Mahamane Jean PADONOU
  • Convergence for Democracy and Progress / Convergence pour la Démocratie et le Progrès
• Laouan MAGAGI
  • Alliance for Democratic Renewal / Alliance pour le Renouveau Démocratique
• Tahirou GUIMBA
  • Democratic Movement for Development and the Defense of Liberties / Mouvement Démocratique pour le Développement et la Défense des Libertés
• Abdoulaye TRAORÉ
  • Party of Progress for a United Niger / Parti du Progrès pour un Niger Uni

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 18,045,729 (July 2015 est.)
• Registered Voters: 6,740,493 (January 2011)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 8,990,623 (July 2015 est.)
• Is Niger a signatory to CEDAW: No
• Has Niger ratified CEDAW: No[1]
• Gender Quota: Yes[2]
• Female candidates in this election: No
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 15 (13.27%) of 113
• Human Development Index Position: 188 (2014)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

• Is Niger a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has Niger ratified CRPD: Yes (24 June 2008)
• Population with a disability: 2,706,859 (July 2015 est.)