NIAMEY, 24 February, 2021 (TON): After the country's monumental election result named ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum the winner, protests erupted in Niger on Tuesday with tyres set alight and reported clashes with police.

Bazoum, a 61-year-old former interior minister, won just over 55% of the vote in Sunday’s election run-off, according to the electoral commission. He beat Mahamane Ousmane, 71, a former president who was toppled by a coup in 1996, who took 44% of the vote.

The provisional results must still be confirmed by the constitutional court.

According to reports, Ousmane supporters took to the streets of the capital Niamey and gathered at the headquarters of the ruling party but were quickly dispersed by police who fired teargas.

Ousmane's campaign alleged fraud before the results were declared and said there had been theft, ballot-box stuffing and threats against voters, without providing evidence.

It is seen as the vote is supposed to usher in Niger's first transition from one democratically elected leader to another after President Mahamadou Issoufou announced he was stepping down after two five-year terms.