NIAMEY: Seven election workers were killed early Sunday in Niger’s troubled western Tillaberi region when their vehicle hit a mine, the area’s governor told AFP.

The blast also injured three of the workers, who included the heads of polling stations, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella told AFP.

The accident came as Niger holds a presidential election runoff between frontrunner Mohamed Bazoum, loyal to outgoing president Mahamadou Issoufou, and former president Mahamane Ousmane. The team had been sent by the Tillaberi branch of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) to monitor the polling, the governor said.