Niger is racing against the clock to print voting slips for Monday's presidential election intended to steer the uranium-producer back to civilian rule, Reuters reported. A delay in the poll will raise doubts over the poor West African state's quest for stability at a time when it is battling against an emerging presence of al Qaeda allies. The local printing company failed to have all slips ready for nearly seven million registered voters by a midday Friday deadline, and it also emerged that voting equipment was so far installed in only three of eight regions. "I don't like hearing we have to wait till tomorrow -- I want them today," junta leader Salou Djibo told state radio. Djibo came to power after a February 2010 coup against Mamadou Tandja, the ex-president who tried to stay on in power after his term had finished. Tandja is currently in jail accused of misuse of public funds. Djibo has been praised for his promise to leave power by April this year after a likely run-off in March between whichever two candidates emerge as leaders in Monday's poll. Organisational hiccups over this month's municipal elections prompted calls for the presidential vote to be delayed a few weeks, but Djibo has insisted it must go ahead. Ten candidates are running on Monday, including veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou, ex-premier Seini Oumarou of Tandja's MNSD party, and Hama Amadou, another ex-premier. Parliamentary elections are being held simultaneously. Earlier this week six candidates including Oumarou announced a coalition seen bolstering the MNSD's chances, and which was immediately attacked by rivals as a step back to the Tandja era. "We are back where we started," said Issoufou Sidibe of the CDTN, the main centrist opposition party. "You can't restore democracy with those that demolished it in the first place." Opponents of Tandja dominated municipal elections held on Jan. 11. Delays and disorganisation prevented many from voting but the junta rejected calls for the results to be scrapped. -- SPA
