President Mamadou Tandja of Niger appears to have climbed down in his battle with the other institutions in the state.

In previous posts (below) I outlined how he wanted to introduce a new constitution whose sole aim, ostensibly, was to allow him to stand for a third term later this year, despite a very clear constitutional interdiction to all ow him to do so.

While there was clearly some support for President Tandja’s reform, there was also considerable opposition. However, up to this point, when faced with opposition the president had tried to force through the reform. For example, when there was dissent within parliament, he dissolved parliament.

In the last ten days or so President Tandja’s situation deteriorated markedly. For example, on 12 June the Constitutional Court declared that the president’s proposed referendum on the new constitution would be unconstitutional and struck down the presidential decree that had set the referendum. Following that decision, the Commission électorale nationale indépendante (Ceni) announced that it would not hold the referendum under its auspices. This was a major blow. Now, Allafrica.com is now reporting that on Friday the Council of the Republic has defied the president. This is very significant because Art. 56 of the 1999 constitution states that the Council is only convened when “the regular functioning of the public powers are seriously threatened”. Apparently, President Tandja wanted to push through the reform (presumably anyway, the article is unclear) by decree. The Council refused to agree to the proposal. The prime minister and others seemingly declared that they were not able to make a decision of the matter.

Anyway, now the report suggests that President Tandja has signed the decree naming a date for legislative elections (20 August).

The tone of various reports suggests that President Tandja has utterly capitulated. Obviously I am cynical (for those who know me, it goes without saying), but I can’t help thinking that this isn’t the end of the affair.

Anyway, assuming the reports are correct, this means that Niger will remain semi-presidential and that democracy (even of the unconsolidated, partial sort) emerges victorious.

You might wish to check for updates on La Constitution en Afrique site.