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A constitutional referendum was held in Niger on 12 May 1996. The new constitution would restore multi-party democracy after the military coup earlier in the year had ousted elected President Mahamane Ousmane.
It was approved by 92.34% of voters with a turnout of only around 35%. [1] The first presidential elections under the new constitution were held on 7 and 8 July, and saw a victory for coup leader Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 92.34 | |
| Against | 7.66 | |
| Total | 100 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 35.10 | |
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||
Niger or the Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. It covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), making it the largest landlocked country in West Africa. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its predominantly Muslim population of about 25 million live mostly in clusters in the further south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger's southwest corner.
This is the history of the Niger. See also the history of Africa and the history of West Africa.
Politics of Niger takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Niger is head of state and the Prime Minister of Niger head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999.
Mamadou Tandja was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNSD's presidential candidate in 1993 and 1996 before being elected to his first term in 1999. While serving as President of Niger, he was also Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States from 2005 to 2007.
Elections in Niger take place within the framework of a semi-presidential system. The President and National Assembly are elected by the public, with elections organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).
Mahamadou Issoufou is a Nigerien politician who served as the President of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. Issoufou was the prime minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, president of the National Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and he was a candidate in each presidential election from 1993 to 2016. He led the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya), a social democratic party, from its foundation in 1990 until his election as president in 2011. During the Presidency of Mamadou Tandja (1999–2010), Issoufou was the main opposition leader.
The unicameral National Assembly is Niger's legislative body. The National Assembly may propose laws and is required to approve all legislation.
Hamid Algabid is a Nigerien politician and the President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP-Jama'a) party. A lawyer, banker, and technocrat, Algabid was an important figure in the regime of Seyni Kountché, serving as Prime Minister of Niger from 1983 to 1988. He was Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) from 1989 to 1996, and since 1997 he has been President of the RDP-Jama'a. He was also President of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities (HCCT) until 2010.
General elections were held in Niger in 1999; the first-round of the presidential elections was held on 17 October, with a run-off held alongside National Assembly elections on 24 November. The elections followed a coup d'état on 9 April, in which Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who had led an earlier coup in January 1996 and won disputed presidential elections, was assassinated. Coup leader Daouda Mallam Wanké initiated a transitional period that concluded with the victory of Mamadou Tandja, the candidate of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD), over Mahamadou Issoufou, the candidate of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), in the run-off. The vote for the first National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, which had originally been scheduled for October, but delayed in August, also saw a victory for the MNSD, which won 38 of the 83 seats. It formed a coalition with the Democratic and Social Convention in order to gain a majority in the Assembly.
The Republic of Niger has had seven constitutions, two substantial constitutional revisions, and two periods of rule by decree since its independence from French colonial rule in 1960. The current "Seventh Republic" operates under the Constitution of 2010.
A constitutional referendum was held in Niger on 26 December 1992. The new constitution would restore multi-party democracy for the first time since 1960, whilst also allowing unlimited number of five-year terms for the President. It was approved by 89.79% of voters, with a turnout of 56.6%. Upon its promulgation on 22 January 1993, the Third Republic came into being, which lasted until the 1996 coup.
A coup d'état occurred in Niger on 18 February 2010. Soldiers attacked the presidential palace in Niamey under weapons fire at midday and captured President Mamadou Tandja, who was chairing a government meeting at the time. Later in the day, the rebels announced on television the formation of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), headed by chef d'escadron Salou Djibo.
The Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, led by Salou Djibo, was a military junta that staged a coup in Niger on 18 February 2010, deposing President Mamadou Tandja in response to Tandja's attempts to remain in office after his term was over. The CSRD stated that its objective is to make Niger an example of "democracy and good governance."
The 1999 Nigerien coup d'état occurred on 9 April 1999 and resulted in the death of President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara and the installation of Daouda Malam Wanké as President on 11 April. Maïnassara was shot under unclear circumstances in an ambush at either Diori Hamani International Airport, potentially while attempting to flee the country, or at a military base, likely by members of the Presidential Guard.
The 1996 Nigerien coup d'état was a military coup d'état which occurred on 27 January 1996 in Niamey, Niger. It ousted Niger's first democratically elected president, Mahamane Ousmane after nearly three years in power and installed General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara as head of state. Prime Minister Hama Amadou was arrested in the coup and several soldiers and presidential guards were killed in the fighting.
A constitutional referendum was held in Niger on 31 October 2010, after the military coup earlier in the year had ousted elected President Mamadou Tandja. General elections followed on 31 January and 12 March 2011. Approved by 90% of voters, the constitution granted immunity to the coup leaders and stipulated that they had to hand over power by 6 April 2011. They did so as promised following the January–March 2011 general elections. The approval of the referendum also restored the semi-presidential system of government which had been abolished in the disputed referendum in 2009.
Presidential elections were held in Niger on 7 and 8 July 1996. They followed the approval of a new constitution in a referendum in May after a military coup had removed the first democratically elected President Mahamane Ousmane from office in January. Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, who had been installed as leader following the coup, won the elections in the first round, claiming 52.22% of the vote, with a 66.4% turnout.
A constitutional referendum was held in Niger on 24 September 1989. The new constitution would make the country a one-party state with the National Movement for the Development of Society as the sole legal party. The government would have a presidential system, as well as the continued involvement of the Armed Forces, which had ruled the country since the military coup in 1974.
A constitutional referendum was held in Niger on 18 July 1999. The new constitution would restore multi-party democracy after the military coup earlier in the year had ousted elected President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara.
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