Constitutional referendum in Niger in 2009

The constitutional referendum in Niger in 2009 took place on August 4, 2009. The electors of Niger voted in majority for adoption of the constitution of the Sixth Republic.

background

The Constitution of the Fifth Republic limited the President to two terms. Mamadou Tandja had already been elected in the 1999 and 2004 presidential elections and was now seeking a third term that was not planned. To this end, he switched off the Constitutional Court and had a new constitution drawn up by a five-person legal committee. The body was chaired by the former President of the Constitutional Court, Issoufou Abba Moussa , and the vice-chairman by the former Justice Minister Mamadou Dagra . The new constitution provided for a lifting of the term limit, full executive power for the president and the creation of a senate as the second chamber of the national assembly .

Result

Of 6,045,140 registered voters, 4,126,199 officially went to the polls. This corresponds to a turnout of 68.3%. Of the voting slips submitted, 4,004,889 were considered valid and 121,310 were considered invalid.

	be right	proportion of
Yes	3,704,558	92.5%
No	300,331	7.5%

The opposition called for a boycott of the referendum. The official voter turnout figures contrasted with the opinion of most independent election observers, who estimated them to be below 10%.

consequences

Under the new constitution, the parliamentary elections boycotted by most of the major opposition parties were held on October 20, 2009 . The Sixth Republic ended on February 18, 2010 with a coup led by Salou Djibo and was replaced by the Seventh Republic, which began with the 2010 constitutional referendum .

literature

Christine Pawlitzky: Crisis in Niger: Dismantling Democracy in the Name of the People? In: GIGA Focus Africa . No. June 6 , 2009, ISSN 1862-3603 ( ssoar.info [PDF]).

David Robert, Anja Kaspers: Setback for democracy in Niger. "Civilian coup" brings absolute power to President Tandja . In: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Hrsg.): KAS-Auslandsinformationen . tape 26 , no. 1 , January 19, 2010, ISSN 0177-7521 , p. 74-88 ( kas.de [PDF]).

Web links

Text of the constitution: La constitution de la VIème République . (PDF) Cour Constitutionnelle du Niger (French).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 141 and 143 .
↑ Le président Tandja crée un Comité de rédaction d'une nouvelle Constitution. RFI, June 2, 2009, accessed September 17, 2018 (French).
^ Elections in Niger. African Elections Database, October 30, 2011, accessed September 17, 2018 (French).

[Idrissa_141_143-1] Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 141 and 143 .

[2] Le président Tandja crée un Comité de rédaction d'une nouvelle Constitution. RFI, June 2, 2009, accessed September 17, 2018 (French).

[3] Elections in Niger. African Elections Database, October 30, 2011, accessed September 17, 2018 (French).