Niger – PM problems

I should have posted about Niger before now, but things are starting to come to a head.

The basic problem is that former PM, Hama Amadou, was arrested in June 2008 on charges of corruption after having his immunity lifted by the Assembly. For his supporters, this was a blatant attempt to stop him from standing at the 2009 presidential election, which is scheduled for November.

Amadou was PM from 1995-96 when he and the president were ousted in a coup during a period of cohabitation. Following the restoration of democracy and the election of Mamadou Tandja as President in 1999, Amadou was again appointed as PM and served in office until June 2007 when he was brought down by a vote of no-confidence. He retained the support of the largest party (which is his party and the president’s party), the MNSD, but the other coalition party, the CDS, joined the opposition and voted down the government. He was replaced as PM by Seyni Oumarou. A year later, Amadou found himself in jail where he still resides.

The problem now seems to be that the MNSD is increasingly split between those who support President Tandja and PM Oumarou and those whose loyalties lie with former PM Amadou. In November 2008 Oumarou reportedly assumed the post of interim president of the MNSD, replacing Amadou. However, this decision is contested by Amadou’s supporters.

Now, jeuneafrique reports that elements of the MNSD party have demanded that President Tandja withdraw his confidence from PM Oumarou. Niger has a premier-presidential form of semi-presidentialism, so the president cannot dismiss the PM. Consequently, one of MNSD dissidents called, in effect, for parliament to dismiss PM Oumarou. (Given they are from the same party, this is a fairly radical rupture of party unity).

Another complicating factor is that President Tandja is term limited. This is, arguably, one reason why Amadou’s opponent want him out of the way. However, in a scenario reminiscent of recent events in Cameroon, Algeria and Azerbaijan, there is a movement to try to pass a constitutional amendment with a view to ending presidential term limit. The Constitution en Afrique blog recently drew my attention to it.

All in all, things are hotting up in Niger. That said, one really interesting element of the report in jeuneafrique is the idea that the competing parties may go to the courts to resolve the issue. This would be a welcome step in the context of Niger’s post-independence military history.

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