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Niger holds constitutional referendum to extend presidential term limits

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Niger held a referendum Tuesday on a proposed constitution that would allow President Mamadou Tandja to remain in office. Tandja had previously promised to step down when his second five-year term expires in December, but if the new constitution is approved, he will be allowed to remain in office for three more years and could then run for re-election as many times as he wants. The new constitution, which was drafted by a five-member panel appointed by Tandja, would also give the president the power to appoint one-third of the members of a new 60-member senate. Opposition leaders have been extremely critical of the proposed constitution and called for a boycott of the referendum. In June, opposition leader Bazoum Mohamed of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS) accused Tandja of committing a coup d'etat by annulling the West African country's Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court ruled in May that plans to hold a referendum on allowing a third term violated the 1999 Constitution. Tandja responded to the ruling by dissolving parliament and assuming emergency powers.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on August 04, 2009 (boomark / email).