The politics of Niger operates within a semi-presidential representative democratic republic. In this system, the President of Niger serves as the head of state, while the Prime Minister of Niger leads the government. Executive power is vested in the government.
Since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1999, the political dynamics and parties of the Third Republic have remained influential in national politics. The country has three major parties, along with several smaller ones, but no single party has secured a majority in the National Assembly of Niger.
The current system of governance, established by the Constitution of November 25, 2010, is known as the Seventh Republic of Niger. It is a semi-presidential republic, where the President of Niger is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Niger is the head of government.
The officials holding these posts are chosen through a representative democratic process of national and local elections, in the context of a competing multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
It is worth remembering that Niger has experimented with two types of proportional systems. The proportional system with the highest remainder was used in the 1993 and 1995 elections. It was introduced after the National Conference met, and its goal was to reduce the power of the dominant party and to enable opposition parties to be represented at the National Assembly.
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This system made it possible to have 12 new political parties represented in the National Assembly, but it was not conducive to government stability. No party won a majority in the Assembly, and multiparty coexistence in the Assembly led to several problems, which eventually ended in a military coup in 1996.
In order to correct the deficiencies of this system, and to ensure the existence of a stable majority in parliament, a proportional system with the highest average was adopted for legislative elections. Until 2010, this institutional change led to a reduction of the number of parties represented at the Assembly.
Today, the election of the members of the National Assembly in Niger is conducted through universal, free, and secret direct elections (Article 115). If there is one seat to be filled in a constituency, the electoral system will be single plurality, with one round. The winner is the candidate who has the relative majority of votes.
The allocation of seats by proportional representation and on the basis of the highest remainders allocated as many seats as possible to a party list, based on the number of times that the electoral quota can be divided into the votes the party received.
The average is determined for each list by dividing the total number of votes obtained and the total number of seats it would obtain if it were increased by the remaining seat. The party list that obtains the highest average is allocated a seat. When there are two or more seats remaining, this procedure is repeated until all seats are allocated.
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According to the provisions of Article 135 of the Electoral Code, members of regional and municipal councils are elected by universal, direct, free, equal, and secret universal suffrage. The electoral system is proportional representation, with the highest average and a system of open party lists.
Regional councils are a new electoral structure in Niger; however, it should be noted that the stakes are not as high as those of local and or legislative elections, at least for the time being. Regional counselors are new in Niger’s electoral landscape.
Members of regional and municipal councils are elected for a 5 year term and can be reelected (Article 137). There are no legal limitations to the terms of municipal and regional counselors. At the expiration of the terms, all regional, municipal and “arrondissement” (small municipalities) councils are entirely renewed across the country (Article 138).
In Niger, it is Article 42 of the Electoral Code that determines electoral constituencies. Besides the entire national territory, including the diplomatic and consular missions, which are the constituencies for presidential elections and referendums, Niger also has regional and special constituencies for the election of members of the National Assembly, which are defined by law.
For legislative elections, the number of seats available per region and per special constituency is defined by law. Two criteria are used for the allocation of the seats: a demographic criterion (population size) and the composition of ethnolinguistic (ethnic) minorities.
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In ordinary constituencies the law states that one seat in the National Assembly is allocated for 100,000 inhabitants. One seat is also allocated to each special constituency. Special constituencies have been created to take into account the vote of certain categories (minorities) of people, to make sure they are represented at the national Assembly.
The unicameral National Assembly was expanded in 2004 to 113 deputies elected for a 5-year term under a majority system of representation. The National Assembly was then expanded again to 171 seats.
The National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) has 171 members, elected for a five-year term, 158 members elected in multi-seat constituencies, 8 members elected in single-seat national minority constituencies and 5 seats reserved for Nigeriens living abroad. The multi-seat constituency members are elected using a party-list (Scrutin du liste) proportional representation system.
For these seats, political parties must attain at least 5% of the vote in order to gain a seat in the legislature.
The National Assembly has oversight of the executive in voting legislation, override of Presidential veto, vote of no-confidence of the Prime Minister, and the reserved right to nominate the Prime Minister.
As well, the Assembly has recourse to publicly investigate the executive through Committee Hearings, Hearing in plenary sittings, Commissions of inquiry, formal parliamentary questions, "Question time", and Interpellations.
The Head of State is the President of Niger. Niger's 2010 constitution restores the semi-presidential system of government of the December 1992 constitution (Third Republic) in which the President of the Republic is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a prime minister, named by the president, share executive power.
The Prime Minister is subject to recall by the National Assembly through a no confidence vote. The President may not remove the Prime Minister, but may dissolve the National Assembly (although this is limited to once every two years).
The President, Prime Minister, or Legislature may propose legislation. The Constitution of the Fifth Republic differs from that of the Third by giving greater powers to the President.
Executive power is exercised through Ministerial appointment, made by the President of the Republic and authorised by the National Assembly.
The 1999 constitution, as well as law since that date, created a number of government bodies. These are executive bodies, but which answer to both the National Assembly and the Presidency in varying degrees.
For instance, the Nigerien National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties is constitutionally mandated to be independent of all other bodies, reports to the president, and through later law has each member mandated to be chosen by a different non-governmental body (For instance, Human Rights commissions, Press unions, Legal professional organisations) and then approved by the President.
Members tend to serve fixed terms and cannot be dismissed by other government officials.
Other government bodies include:
- Council of the Republic
- Nigerien National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties (CNDH/LF)
- Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI)
- Mediator of the Republic
- High Council for Communication
- The High Council of Territorial Collectives (Haut Conseil des Collectivités Territoriales HCCT)
- Association of Traditional Chiefs of Niger
- Economic, Social, and Cultural Council of Niger
National government has, since 1999, been supplemented by locally elected officials, who in turn choose representatives at the Departmental and Regional levels.
Central governance is carried out by professional administrative agencies, directed by the Office of the President and/or the Ministries headed by members of the National Assembly appointed to the post by the President. The remainder of Ministry offices are filled by non-political professional administrators.
The civilian central government of Niger maintains a monopoly on force within its borders. Both the Military of Niger and Law enforcement trace their authority eventually to the President of the Republic, through Ministries and their controlling Minister.
The Military and Gendarmerie (Police responsible for enforcement outside urban areas) are commanded through the Ministry of Defence. The Police Nationale and the Nigerien Internal Security Forces (FNIS) paramilitary police are controlled through the Ministry of Interior, Public Safety and Decentralization.
The Judicial and Tax police (Douanes) are controlled through the Ministry of Finance.
Foreign relations are carried out by the President, as Head of State, as well as through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Niger.
The country is currently divided into eight Regions: Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder and Niamey (a capital district of coequal authority to a Region). These Regions are subdivided into 36 Departments.
The Regions are subdivided into Departments and communes. As of 2005, there were 36 départements, divided into 265 communes, 122 cantons and 81 groupements.
The latter two categories cover all areas not covered by Urban Communes (population over 10000) or Rural Communes (population under 10000), and are governed by the department, whereas Communes have (since 1999) elected councils and mayors.
Prior to the devolution program on 1999-2006, these Regions were styled Departments. Prior to independence, Niger was divided into sixteen Cercles as second level administration divisions: Agadez, Birni N'Konni, Dogondoutchi, Dosso, Filingué, Gouré, Madaoua, Magaria, Maradi, N'Guigmi, Niamey, Tahoua, Téra, Tessaoua, Tillabéry, and Zinder.
After independence, the 31 December 1961 Law of territorial organization created 31 circonscriptions. The 16 colonial cercles continued to exist, and served as a level of division above these circonscriptions. Four cercles (Dogondoutchi, Filingué, N'Guigmi, and Téra) had only one circonscription.
Political Dynamics and Party System
In the Third Republic, a coalition of the CDS and PNDS was formed with many small parties, in part to keep the former military party of the MNSD out of power. This coalition collapsed in recriminations in 1995, leading to a PNDS and MNSD government facing a CDS President.
In the October 1999 National Assembly Election, the MNSD won 38 of the 83 seats, forming a government under Hama Amadou with the support of CDS-Rahama's 17 seats. The PNDS led the opposition with 16 seats, but the continued antagonism between Mahamadou Issoufou and Mahamane Ousmane meant that no other coalition was available.
While Tandja easily retained the presidency against a second round challenge by Mahamadou Issoufou, the 2004 National Assembly elections were closer. The PNDS formed a coalition to contest the expanded 113 seats of the National Assembly, which also included the UNI (2 seats), the PPN (2), and the PNA-Al'ouma (4). With the PNDS' 17 seats this coalition took 25 seats.
The MNSD remained the largest party at 47 seats, be relied again on CDS-Rahama's 22 seats to govern. A minor portfolios in the Council of Ministers were given to two smaller parties as well, the RDP-Jama'a (6 seats) and ANDP-Zaman Lahiya (5 seats). In December 2004 Hama Amadou was again chosen as Prime Minister. Mahamane Ousmane, the head of the CDS, was re-elected President of the National Assembly.
In June 2007, a no confidence vote against the government led to the fall of the Prime Minister Hama Amadou and his ministers.
In the run up to the 2009 elections (Presidential, Assembly, and Municipal), a movement to draft President Tandja for a third term appeared. Led by public figures of the MNSD outside government, the group took the name of Tandja's 2004 re-election slogan, Tazarce: a Hausa word meaning "Continuity".
Through several well funded and well attended public rallies in late 2008, the President remained silent on the calls for him to remain. The 1999 constitution made the serving of more than two term impossible (article 36), and the revision of that article illegal by any means (article 136).
On 15 May 2009, in response to their parties opposition to a proposed referendum to allow the President to seek a third term, the three members of RDP-Jama'a and ANDP-Zaman Lahiya were replaced with ministers drawn from the MNSD-Nassara.
According to the 1999 Constitution of Niger, the President may call a referendum on any matter (except for a revision of those elements of the Constitution outlined in Article 136-including the presidential term limits). The Constitutional Court of Niger and the National Assembly of Niger must advise the president, but there is no provision that the president must heed their advice.
On 25 May 2009, the Constitutional Court, made up of appointed judges, released a ruling that any referendum to create a new constitution would be unconstitutional, and further would be a violation of the oath the president had taken on the Koran (a serious matter in this overwhelmingly Muslim country).
The week prior, two major parties had come out in their opposition to the referendum proposal as well. On 13 May, the ANDP-Zaman Lahiya, led by former MNSD number two Djermokoye declared its opposition to any change in the constitution.
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