Alliance of the Forces of Change

Last updated
Niger
Coat of arms of Niger.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Niger
Judiciary

The Alliance of the Forces of Change (in French : Alliance des forces du changement, AFC) was one of the two large political coalitions which contested for power in Niger from 1991 to 1996.

French language Romance language

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) has largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.

Niger republic in Western Africa

Niger or the Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin to the southwest, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), making it the largest country in West Africa. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara Desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of about 21 million live mostly in clusters in the far south and west of the country. The capital city is Niamey, located in Niger's southwest corner.

Contents

Formation

The AFC was formed following the end of military rule in the 1991-1993 transition period. It consisted of nine parties, although one left the coalition in 1994. The AFC based its broad stance on opposition to the National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara (MNSD-Nassara), the political coalition set up by former ruler General Ali Saibou, as well as a perception among some of in the traditional elites of Nigerien Hausaland, that previous regimes had favoured the Djerma--Songhai since independence. As well, one traditional Djerma leader, Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye, lost out of a role in the leadership of the MNSD, and brought his Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP-Zaman Lahiya) into the AFC. [1]

Ali Saibou President of Niger

Ali Saibou was the third President of Niger from 1987 to 1993 succeeding the deceased Seyni Kountché.

Zarma people ethnic group of westernmost Niger, Nigeria, Benin and nearby countries

The Zarma people are an ethnic group predominantly found in westernmost Niger also found in significant numbers in the adjacent areas of Nigeria and Benin, along with smaller numbers in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.

Songhai people West African ethnic group

The Songhai people are an ethnic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and lingua franca is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly a Muslim community, the Songhai are found primarily throughout Mali in the Western sudanic region. The name Songhai was historically neither an ethnic nor linguistic designation, but a name for the ruling caste of the Songhay Empire. Speakers in Mali have adopted it as an ethnic designation but other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves by other ethnic terms such as Zarma or Isawaghen. The dialect of Koyraboro Senni spoken in Gao is unintelligible to speakers of the Zarma dialect of Niger, according to at least one report. The Songhay languages are commonly taken to be Nilo-Saharan but this classification remains controversial: Dimmendaal (2008) believes that for now it is best considered an independent language family.

Bases of support

The largest powers in the AFC were the Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama (CDS-Rahama), led by Mahamane Ousmane, and the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya (PNDS-Tarayya), led by Mahamadou Issoufou. Both these men were of Hausa background, and both parties relied upon Hausaland as one, though far from all, of their bases of support.

Democratic and Social Convention political party in Niger

The Democratic and Social Convention - Rahama is a political party in Niger.

Mahamane Ousmane 20th and 21st-century Nigerien President and politician

Mahamane Ousmane is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993 until his ousting in a military coup d'état on 27 January 1996. He has continued to run for president in each election since his ousting, and he was president of the National Assembly from December 1999 to May 2009. He is the president of the Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama (CDS), a major political party that is currently in opposition.

Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism political party in Niger

The Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism is a political party in Niger. It is a broadly left-wing party, part of the Socialist International, and since 2011 it has been in power following the election of its long-time leader, Mahamadou Issoufou, as President. Mohamed Bazoum is Acting President of the PNDS, and its Secretary-General is Foumakoye Gado.

In power 1993-1994

In the February 1993 elections, the AFC took 50 of 83 seats in the new National Assembly, [2] making it the first ruling party of the Third Republic, and the first democratically elected government of Niger since independence. Mahamane Ousmane, became President and Mahamadou Issoufou became Prime Minister.

Mahamadou Issoufou Nigerien politician

Mahamadou Issoufou is a Nigerien politician who has been President of Niger since 7 April 2011. Issoufou was the Prime Minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, President of the National Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and he has been a candidate in each presidential election since 1993. 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 of Niger in 2011. During the Presidency of Mamadou Tandja (1999–2010), Issoufou was the main opposition leader.

Fracturing 1994-1995

But the AFC's fragile coalition, in no small measure based on simple desire to keep the MNSD out, [1] soon teetered. In 1994, Prime Minister Issoufou and his PNDS broke from the coalition. In a 21 September 1994 decree, Ousmane had strengthened his powers at the expense of those of the prime minister, and Issoufou resigned on 28 September rather than accept this. The PNDS was unwilling to put forward another candidate to take Issoufou's place and withdrew from the AFC, thereby depriving the AFC of its parliamentary majority. The PNDS then formed an alliance with the opposition MNSD despite its history of hostility toward that party; Adji Kirgam and Mazou Ibrahim, two PNDS leaders who opposed this alliance, were expelled from the party. [1] In the process the small PPN-RDA crossed over to the opposition as well. In the February 1995 elections which Ousmane called to form a new house, the MNSD took parliament and the Prime Minister's post, with the AFC winning only 40 of the 83 seats, and leading to a period of rancorous cohabitation with President Mahamane Ousmane.

End of the Third Republic 1996

This period of government infighting led, in part, to the January 1996 military coup by Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, [1] new presidential elections in July 1996, and the military's arrest of major opposition candidates to Maïnassara. [3] A side effect of this was the dissolution of the AFC as a political block.

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara 20th-century Nigerien President and military officer

Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was a military officer in Niger who seized power in a January 1996 coup d'état and ruled the country until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999.

Parties of the AFC 1991-1996

Related Research Articles

Politics of Niger

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.

Hama Amadou is a Nigerien politician who was Prime Minister of Niger from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007. He was also Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD-Nassara) from 1991 to 2001 and President of the MNSD-Nassara from 2001 to 2009. Amadou is from the Kurtey, a Fula sub-group, and was raised in the Tillaberi Region, in the Niger River valley, north of Niamey.

Mamadou Tandja President of Niger

Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Mamadou Tandja is a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement of 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

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).

National Movement for the Development of Society political party in Niger

The National Movement for the Development of Society is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974-1990 period, it was the ruling party of Niger from 1989 to 1993 and again from 1999 until a coup on February 18, 2010, by a military junta called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) ousted the president, Mamadou Tandja.

Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress political party in Niger

The Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Niger. Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye led the party from its foundation in 1992 until his death in 2009.

Souley Abdoulaye is a Nigerien politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Niger from 28 September 1994 to 8 February 1995. He later served in the government under President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara as Minister of Transport from 1996 to 1997 and then as Minister of the Interior, in charge of police and internal security, from 1997 to 1999.

Mohamed Bazoum Nigerien politician

Mohamed Bazoum is a Nigerien politician who has been President of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya) since 2011. He served in the government of Niger as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996 and again from 2011 to 2015. He was Minister of State at the Presidency from 2015 to 2016, and he has been Minister of State for the Interior since 2016.

Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye was a Nigerien politician and the President of the Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress. He was an important minister during the regime of Seyni Kountché and subsequently served as Niger's Ambassador to the United States from 1988 to 1991; later, after founding the ANDP, he served as President of the National Assembly of Niger from 1993 to 1994. He was the ANDP's candidate in four presidential elections, beginning in 1993; he was also a deputy in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2009 and the President of the High Court of Justice from 2005 to 2009.

Hassoumi Massaoudou is a Nigerien politician who has served in the government of Niger as Minister of Finance since 2016. A leading member of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya), he was Minister of Communication, Culture, Youth and Sports from 1993 to 1994, President of the PNDS Parliamentary Group from 1999 to 2004, Director of the Cabinet of the President from 2011 to 2013, Minister of the Interior from 2013 to 2016, and Minister of National Defense in 2016.

Issoufou Assoumane is a Nigerien politician who has been President of the Union of Nigerien Democrats and Socialists since 2001. He served in the government of Niger as Minister of Mines and Energy from 1995 to 1996 and as Minister of the Environment from 2000 to 2001.

1995 Nigerien parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Niger on 12 January 1995. The last elections of the Third Republic, they were called following a split in the ruling coalition, but resulted in a government divided between the party of the President and an opposition coalition with a majority in the National Assembly and the post of Prime Minister. The ensuing stalemate was a contributing factor to the coup that overthrew the regime on 27 January 1996.

2011 Nigerien general election

General elections were held in Niger on 31 January 2011 to elect the President and National Assembly, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 March. The first round of the presidential elections was originally scheduled to be held on 3 January and the second round on 31 January, but was later postponed. The elections followed a military coup in February 2010 that ousted President Mamadou Tandja.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley, "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic", Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996.
  2. ↑ Elections in Niger, African Elections Database.
  3. ↑ "Niger: A major step backwards" Archived 2007-09-05 at the Wayback Machine ., Amnesty International, 16 October 1996.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.