Virulent political statements uttered by various actors have raised political tension in Niger, just six months before the first round of the presidential elections scheduled to take place on Feb. 21, 2016.
Since the publication of the electoral timetable for the 2016 elections by the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), tension between the ruling party and the opposition side has kept on rising.
The two sides have differed sharply over the conditions for organization of the forthcoming elections.
Due to increased verbal attacks between members of the Nigerien society, even before the start of the electoral campaigns, most members of the public who spoke to Xinhua expressed hope that “the elections will be concluded peacefully.”
Whereas the opposition accuses Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou of creating conditions favourable to his “re-election,” the civil society has opposed the new law increasing the number of parliamentarians from 113 to 171, and has urged the government to organize “free, transparent and inclusive elections.” The ruling party on its part has termed demands by the opposition politicians a “coup.”
The bitter exchanges began on Aug. 17, 2015 after opposition parties, civil society groups and trade unions met in Niamey to form a common political coalition dubbed the “Republican Patriotic Front (FDR)” whose main objective will be to force Issoufou to organize “inclusive, free and transparent elections.”
The coalition is headed by Seyni Oumarou of the National Movement for Societal Development, Mahamane Ousmane of the Social Democratic Convention and Hama Amadou of the Nigerien Democratic Movement for African Federation. It is also comprised of other civil society and trade union leaders.
Despite the assurances given by Issoufou to organize transparent elections, they have accused the president of trying to “control all institutions involved in the electoral process, especially the Biometric Electoral Register Committee and CENI” so that he can win a second term in 2016.
They have equally accused Issoufou of “politicizing the country’s public service, bribing members of parliament and trying to muzzle the judicial system.”
Earlier, in a message to the nation on Aug. 3, the president had promised his fellow citizens that “he will not interfere with the electoral process and promised to organize free and fair polls.”
However, in a press statement held on Sunday, the opposition’s spokesman Souleye Oumarou said Issoufou was “trying to use legal processes to eliminate all his potential rivals who may bar him from winning, with a guarantee that the Constitutional Court will validate the results received from the polling stations.”
At the same time, the opposition urged the Constitutional Court not to “impose” Issoufou on the Nigerien people and to ensure that the elections will be “free, independent, impartial and sincere.”
Elsewhere, about 40 civil society organizations met on Aug. 19 in Niamey and expressed their opposition to the new law that will increase the number of members of parliament from 113 to 171.
The groups further called for organization of credible elections in 2016, and proposed the holding of a “national dialogue” to properly prepare for the elections.
Reacting to the statements on Sunday, Niger’s Interior Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou termed the opposition’s demands as “purely political statements.”
With regards to the Constitutional Court, he said “it was independent in Niger and cannot be dissolved either by the president or parliament.”
Calling for its dissolution is like calling for a coup, the minister said.
With regards to the electoral register, Massaoudou said opposition representatives were members of the committee charged with preparation of the register.
Concerning the increase in the number of parliamentarians, the Interior minister said “the government will not move backwards.”
“It is a principe that has been applied since 1992, with one member of parliament representing 100,000 people. Today, we are using the same principle on the basis of the 2012 population census that showed Niger had a population of over 17 million,” the minister said.
“Our Constitution is very clear. We must organize legislative and presidential elections between Feb. 16 to 27, 2016,” he concluded. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
