Democratic and Social Convention

The Democratic and Social Convention - Rahama (French: Convention démocratique et sociale-Rahama, CDS-Rahama) is a political party in Niger. It was founded in January 1991. In the 1993 presidential election, the party's leader, Mahamane Ousmane, was elected president. He served until being ousted in a coup in January 1996.^[1]

Fifth Republic

Since 1999, the CDS has been in an alliance with the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD), forming part of the parliamentary majority and participating in the government. Ousmane is the President of the National Assembly. In the presidential election of 16 November 2004, Ousmane was the CDS candidate for the fourth time, winning third place and 17.4% of the vote. In the parliamentary election held on 4 December 2004, the party won 17.4 % of the popular vote and 22 out of 113 seats. Following the election, MNSD-Nassara] resumed its previous ruling coalition with junior partner CDS-Rahama whose 22 seats give the President and Prime Minister 69 seat majority in the National Assembly.

Former President of Niger and current leader of CDS-Rahama, Mahamane Ousmane, was elected by the National Assembly the President of the National Assembly on 29 December 1999, a post to which he was re-elected in 2004.^[2][3]

The CDS held its sixth congress on September 1, 2007.^[4]

On 25 June 2009, after President of Niger Mamadou Tandja dismissed the National Assembly over his plans to hold a constitutional referendum, the CDS announced its final break with the MNSD government. The party withdrew from the government coalition and pulled its eight members from the Nigerien Council of Ministers.^[5] In a statement, the CDS demanded the President definitively submit to the Court's decision.^[6] The party also announced the creation of its own opposition coalition, the Mouvement pour le défense de le démocratie (MDD) along with around five smaller parties such as the UDR and the PDP. This group appears in direct competition with the larger opposition front, the Front de défense de la démocratie (FDD), which is led by the PNDS and staged the two recent anti-referendum marches in Niamey.^[7][8]

References

1. ^ "Mahamane Ousmane, premier président élu", Afrique Express, January 1996 (French).
2. ^ List of deputies elected in the 1999 election by constituency, National Assembly website (2004 archive page) (French).
3. ^ "President of the National Assembly of Niger Mahamane Ousmane Elected President of the IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians", Inter-Parliamentary Union, press release no. 179, 15 January 2004.
4. ^ Yahaya Garba, "6ème congrès de la CDS-Rahama: Un congrès expéditif et sans enjeu", Roue de l’Histoire n° 368, September 5, 2007 (Tamtaminfo.com, September 6, 2007) (French).
5. ^ Niger president's main ally quits the government. AFP. 25 June 2009.
6. ^ COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE de CDS Rahama du 25 juin 2009.
7. ^ L'opposition à Tandja se renforce. RFI. 25 June 2009.
8. ^ Tandja's main ally quits government . The Independent (South Africa)/ Sapa/AFP. 25 June 2009.