Niger's incumbent president Issoufou wins election

NIAMEY, Niger

Niger’s incumbent president Mahamadou Issoufou won nearly 92 percent votes in the second round of Sunday's presidential election, the country’s election authority announced Tuesday.

The Electoral Commission of Niger said in a statement that Issoufou received 92.98 percent votes in the second round.

The first round was held on Feb. 21, at the end of which Issoufou gained 48.4 percent votes, while the main opposition candidate, Hama Amadou, received 17.7 percent votes.

Issoufou received 3,435,871 votes, while Amadou, who is currently in France seeking medical treatment after spending four months in prison in Niger, bagged 259,377 votes.

Niger's opposition coalition rejected the election results.

Ousseini Salatou, spokesman for the Niger opposition, described the result as "shameful".

Earlier, Niger’s opposition coalition announced that they will not recognize the outcome of the second round of the presidential and legislative elections.

The opposition "demands a political transition that will organize new democratic elections – free, legitimate, and transparent and honest," the opposition coalition, COPA 2016, said.

Issoufou has been the president of the country since 2011 but he fell short of an outright majority in the first poll, despite his main rival campaigning from prison.

The Court of Cassation is due to rule on whether Amadou’s trial will proceed on March 23, three days after the run-off vote.

The former French colony, a producer of uranium and oil, is prone to drought and is one of the world’s least-developed nations, according to the UN.

It has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world.

The country also faces a security threat from Boko Haram, which has carried out raids in the southeastern Diffa region.