Niger - 2010 Coup
In October 2008 in "As-Salam", the weekly Islamic newspaper, President of the Nigerien Islamic Association Collective Cheikh Salifou Oumarou affirmed his support for a third mandate for Tandja. In response to a question about the Nigerien Constitution limiting presidential mandates to two five-year terms, the cheikh responded that "in Islam there are no term limits for a leader." When the interviewer stated that many in the general public did not find it appropriate for the cheikh, as a religious leader, to make such a public statement of support for Tandja, the cheikh expressed surprise that "certain politicians believe Muslims shouldn't have any opinion about the nation's political life because Muslim leaders are also part of civil society." He added, "we are not the United States of America, but one saw over there how religious leaders publicly supported President Bush when he ran for office. Muslims have the right to state which candidate they support." He concluded, "If a person in power has made the nation more prosperous, then there is no reason to block his momentum. Speaking my personal opinion and in my role as the leader of the Muslim Association, it's a good thing to modify the constitution to enable Tandja to lead the country because he has proven himself. The constitution is not the Koran, one can change it when necessary."
Since then, the Government of Niger, with US encouragement that included a conflict-negotiation workshop facilitated by the U.S. Institute of Peace, pursued several rounds of peace talks with the MNJ and other rebel groups, resulting in a de facto ceasefire, weapons handovers, and an executive order providing amnesty to rebels and those who supported them, including members of the Nigerien Armed Forces. The Government of Niger made considerable progress in bringing peace and stability to the region; following the November 2009 lifting of the state of alert for Agadez Region, tourists were able to travel to and within the urban parts of Agadez city.
President Tandja, who should have left office in December 2009 after having served two consecutive 5-year terms, manipulated political events to prolong his rule. To do so, in 2009 he mounted a campaign to replace the 1999 constitution, which he could not amend, with one that would eliminate term limits and consolidate presidential authority, a clear violation of the 1999 constitution. Overriding the formal ruling of the Constitutional Court and the views of pro-democracy civil society and political parties, Tandja forced through a costly referendum and instituted the Sixth Republic.
An Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediator sent to help bring an end to the political crisis was unable to break the impasse. On October 17, during a special summit organized in Abuja, ECOWAS formally announced that National Assembly elections slated for October 20 in Niger should be suspended indefinitely. They also announced ECOWAS' refusal to support any candidates presented by the Government of Niger (GON) for elective posts in international organizations and prohibited the GON from hosting ECOWAS meetings. In addition to these sanctions, ECOWAS sent a high-level delegation to Niamey on October 18 headed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to express regional concerns directly to president Tandja. Furthermore, ECOWAS named former Nigerian head of state General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar as mediator on Niger.
On February 18, 2010, military forces stormed the presidential compound and took members of the president’s senior staff and ministers into custody. There were few casualties, and by that evening leaders of the military junta who led the coup against Tandja announced on Niger’s public television station that the government would be led by a new entity called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD). In April, the president of the CSRD and leader of the coup, Major Salou Djibo, chaired a national ceremony for the installation of the National Consultative Council (NCC), charged with providing guidance on all questions of national interest and producing versions of the “fundamental documents,” notably a draft constitution, a draft electoral code, a draft political parties’ charter, draft statutes for the opposition, and a draft law on public access to information. On May 6, 2010 the CSRD accepted the NCC’s proposal for a 12-month transition to democracy, retroactive to February 18, 2010.
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