Security, political tensions cloud Niger’s presidential vote

NIAMEY: Niger will hold an election on Sunday in which President Mahamadou Issoufou is running for a new term with a vow to crush an Islamist militant threat, but the opposition accuses him of another type of crackdown - against them.

Issoufou has pledged to modernise security and defence forces in the West African state if voters grant him a second term, and develop gold and phosphate sites in a bid to improve living standards in one of the world´s poorest countries.

Niger produces uranium and oil but is ranked last in the UN´s Human Development Index and has one of the world´s highest fertility rates.

Issoufou has also said he will promote family planning during his second term.

"We will beat them, our adversaries, and with a knock-out blow that will be a historical milestone, since it will be the first time that a candidate will win in the first round," Issoufou told a rally of up to 30,000 supporters on Thursday.

Issoufou faces 14 candidates, four of them members of an opposition coalition led by Seyni Oumaru, to lead a country that views itself as an island of stability amid neighbours such as Mali, Libya and Nigeria who are confronting Islamist militants.