Tandja Mamadou

Infobox President
name = Tandja Mamadou


order = President of Niger
primeminister = Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki
Hama Amadou
Seyni Oumarou
vicepresident =
term_start = 22 December 1999
predecessor = Daouda Malam Wanké
successor =
birth_date = 1938
birth_place = Maïné-Soroa, Niger
spouse =
party = MNSD

Colonel (ret.) Tandja Mamadou (born 1938 in Maïné-Soroa, Niger) [ [http://lexikon.meyers.de/meyers/Tandja Meyers Lexikon Online] , accessed May 20, 2007.] is a Nigerien politician and current President, as well as the chairman of economic organization ECOWAS. His name is sometimes reported as "Mamadou Tandja," which is not used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Tandja is said to be of Fula and Kanuri ancestry. He is the first president of Niger who is not ethnically Hausa or Djerma. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27742.htm Country Reports on Human Rights Practices — 2003: Niger] , U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 25, 2004.]

1974 coup, the Kountché regime, and the MNSD

Tandja participated in the 1974 coup that brought Seyni Kountché to power [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=44576 "Tandja wins second term as president in historic first for country"] , IRIN, December 8, 2004.] [Idy Barou, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4152624.stm "Niger's leader - haunted by hunger"] , BBC News, August 15, 2005.] [http://www.afrique-express.com/archive/OUEST/niger/bio/197tandja.htm "M. Tandja Mamadou, le nouveau président du Niger"] , "Afrique Express", No. 197, November 28, 1999 fr icon.] and became a member of the Supreme Military Council. He became prefect of Maradi in 1976 before being named Minister of the Interior on September 10 1979, serving in that position until being replaced by Kountché himself on August 31 1981. ["Oct 1979 - Government Reorganization", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 25, October, 1979 Niger, Page 29884.] ["Mar 1982 - Government Changes - Other Internal and External Developments", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 28, March, 1982 Niger, Page 31404.] He was then prefect of Tahoua from 1981 to March 1988, ambassador to Nigeria from June 1988 to March 1990, and Minister of the Interior again from March 1990 to March 1991.

In 1991, Tandja emerged as the head of one of two powerful factions in the ruling National Movement of the Development Society ("Mouvement National pour la Societé de Développement", MNSD), and at a party congress held in November 1991, he was elected as MNSD President.Myriam Gervais, "Niger: Regime Change, Economic Crisis, and Perpetuation of Privilege", in "Political Reform in Francophone Africa" (1997), ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier, pages 100–102.] Tandja's obtaining of the party leadership over rival faction leader Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye marked a departure from the traditional dominance of the party by Djermakoye's Zarma (Djerma) ethnic group.Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulayi Niandou Souley, [http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=11625 "The rise to power of an opposition party: the MNSD in Niger Republic"] , Unisa Press, Politeia, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1996.]

1993 election

Tandja ran for President in the elections of 1993, taking first place in the first round in February with 34.22% of the vote, but then losing to Mahamane Ousmane in the second round in March, taking 45.58% of the vote. [http://africanelections.tripod.com/ne.html Elections in Niger] , African Elections Database.] Tandja accepted the results and congratulated Ousmane.

Tandja participated in an opposition protest against the government of the Alliance of the Forces of Change ruling coalition on April 16 1994 and was arrested along with 90 others. Ousmane was overthrown in a military coup led by Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara on January 27, 1996.

1996 election

Under Maïnassara, a new presidential election was held on July 7–8, 1996, in which Tandja ran again; this time he took third place with 15.65% of the vote, behind Maïnassara with about 52% and Ousmane with about 20%. On the second day of polling he was placed under house arrest along with the other three opposition candidates and held for two weeks. [ [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR430021996?open&of=ENG-NER "Niger: A major step backwards"] , October 16, 1996.] Following a pro-democracy demonstration on 11 January 1997, Tandja was arrested along with Ousmane and former Prime Minister Mahamadou Issoufou and held until 23 January. [ [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3ae6a9937.html "Harassment of Government Opponents has Become Systematic"] , Amnesty International (UNHCR.org), May 1, 1997.]

1999 election and first term

In April 1999, Maïnassara was assassinated and a new military government led by Major Daouda Malam Wanké took over. This junta promised a return to democracy within the year, and the elections were held in October and November. Tandja won the presidential election, receiving first place, with 32% of the vote, in the first round, and 59.89% in the second round, defeating Issoufou. [http://democratie.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/RAPPORT_DE_LA_MISSION_D_OBSERVATION_DES_ELECTIONS_PRESIDENTIELLES_ET_LEGISLATIVES_DES_17_OCTOBRE_ET_24_NOVEMBRE_1999_.pdf "RAPPORT DE LA MISSION D’OBSERVATION DES ELECTIONS PRESIDENTIELLES ET LEGISLATIVES DES 17 OCTOBRE ET 24 NOVEMBRE 1999"] , democratie.francophonie.org fr icon.] Tandja received the backing of Ousmane in the second round. The MNSD also won the most seats in the parliamentary election in November 1999 and Tandja himself was elected to the National Assembly as an MNSD candidate from Diffa constituency, although due to his concurrent election as President his seat was filled by his substitute, Nassourou Samaila. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20040718020211/www.assemblee.ne/organes/ldpce.htm List of deputies elected in the 1999 parliamentary election by constituency] , National Assembly website (2004 archive) fr.] He took office as President on December 22, 1999. He appointed Hama Amadou as Prime Minister in January 2000. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/689.htm Niger: Country Report on Human Rights Practices, 2000] , U.S. Department of State, February 23, 2001.]

Niger was heavily in debt and was not receiving any foreign aid due to the 1996 coup and subsequent suspension of democratic institutions. Tandja focused on economic development, negotiating with the civil service unions and with foreign donors. Many did not approve of Tandja's measures in reducing government spending. In 2001, students at the University of Niamey staged violent protests against the reduction of their government grants. On July 31 2002, some soldiers in Diffa started a mutiny demanding pay and improved living conditions; this briefly spread to Niamey a few days later. [ [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=29138&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=NIGER "Mutineers detain prefect, mayor and other dignitaries"] , IRIN, August 1, 2002.] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2183345.stm Troops put down Niger mutiny"] , BBC.co.uk, August 9, 2002.] Loyalists defeated the mutineers and restored peace by August 9, but Tandja came under political fire for his decrees blocking communication about the rebellion. [ [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30051&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=NIGER "Security measures relaxed in Diffa"] , IRIN, September 23, 2002.] [ [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=29227&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=NIGER "State of alert threatens independent media - RSF"] , IRIN, August 7, 2002.]

2004 election and second term

Tandja was a candidate for re-election in the 2004 presidential election. In the first round of the election, held on November 16, he took first place with 40.7% of the vote, the rest being divided between five opponents. As in 1999, Mahamadou Issoufou took second place, and he participated in a runoff with Tandja on December 4. Tandja was re-elected with 65.53% of the vote, with Issoufou receiving the remaining 34.47%. [ [http://democratie.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/NIGER_RMO1611_04122004.pdf "RAPPORT DE LA MISSION D’OBSERVATION DES ELECTIONS PRESIDENTIELLES ET LEGISLATIVES DES 16 NOVEMBRE ET 4 DECEMBRE 2004"] , democratie.francophonie.org fr icon.] All four of the defeated first round candidates supported Tandja in the second round. [ [http://www.afrol.com/articles/14943 "Incumbent wins Niger presidential poll"] , afrol News, December 8, 2004.] [ [http://www.french.xinhuanet.com/french/2004-11/23/content_49745.htm "Présidentielle au Niger: un quatrième parti, le RDP, soutient la candidature de Mamadou Tandja au second tour"] , Xinhua, November 23, 2004 fr icon.] He was sworn in for his second term on December 21 at a ceremony at the Général Seyni Kountché Stadium in Niamey, which was attended by six other African presidents. [ [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_depeche.asp?art_cle=AFP03334mamadsniaci0 "Mamadou Tandja investi en présence de six chefs d'Etats africains"] , AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), December 21, 2004 fr icon.]

Although there had been speculation about a possible constitutional change to enable Tandja to run again in 2009, he said in an interview with "Le Monde", published on October 6 2007, that he intended to step down at the end of his second term. [ [http://www.afriquenligne.fr/actualites/politique/le-president-tandja-s%27engage-a-quitter-le-pouvoir-en-2009-2007100610127/ "Le président Tandja s'engage à quitter le pouvoir en 2009"] , Panapress (Afriquenligne.fr), October 6, 2007 fr icon.]

References

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