Burkina Faso President Congratulates Newly Elected Nigerien Counterpart On Taking Office

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2021) President of Burkina Faso Roch Kabore on Wednesday expressed congratulations to Mohamed Bazoum, a veteran Nigerien politician who was elected as the new head of state, on his victory in the presidential election.

The presidential election was held in Niger in two rounds, the first on December 27, 2020, and the runoff this past Sunday. The Independent National Election Commission declared the provisional results on Tuesday, according to which Bazoum, a candidate from the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS) ruling party, won the race with 55.75 percent of the vote. However, the results are yet to be confirmed by the country's Constitutional Court.

"I extend my warm and fraternal congratulations to the elected President of Niger @mohamedbazoum. I assure him of my full readiness to work with him to consolidate the excellent relations of cooperation and friendship between our two countries," Kabore tweeted.

In the first round of voting, Bazoum secured 39.33 percent of the vote while his main rival, Mahamane Ousmane, who served as Niger's president from 1993-1996 before he was ousted, received 16.9 percent. The latter, who received 44.25 percent of the vote in the runoff, said he rejected the results, claiming the victory to be his. Additionally, rallies against Bazoum's candidature occurred in some cities across the Western African nation.