Niger: A new constitution for the country

By on November 3, 2010

The “yes” substantially outweighs the referendum which took place Sunday in Niger on a new constitution, supposed to initiate the return to democracy after the military coup of February, according to the provisional results.

The president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Gousmane Abdourahamane said that the results of 172 out of 266 municipalities in the country, were received, representing 64% of all outcomes. The current participation rate is 54.16% with 93.48% of “Yes” he said, without specifying how many voters, of the 6.7 million registered, were represented by the 172 municipalities considered. The lowest turnout (8%) was recorded in the town of Maradi (south), the highest (81.33%) was in Tombo-Kirey in the region of Dosso (south). The Turnout was low in Niamey, the capital, only 20%. The junta has called to vote “yes” for the new Constitution, proposed to and approved by all parties. The Presidential and legislative elections will be set at January 31, 2011. The new drafted Constitution is limiting the presidential term to “five years, renewable once, and this provision may not be revised. In 2009, President Tandja had created a serious crisis by amending the constitution to remain in power after his second term.


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