Niamey, August 04: The president of uranium-rich Niger pushed forward today with a highly controversial referendum on a new constitution that would remove term-limits and grant him another three years in office – this time with increased powers.
Opposition leaders are boycotting the vote because they say it is illegal, a view shared by international donors who may respond by cutting aid to one of the world’s poorest nations.
Security forces in dark camouflage fatigues blocked the streets today with machine gun-mounted trucks around the mayor’s office in Niamey, where President Mamadou Tandja cast his ballot.
“It is a great day today. We thank God and the Nigerian people,” Tandja told reporters after voting. “Our objective has been attained. We answered the call of the people.”
Tandja has ruled the desert country since 1999, twice winning votes hailed as free and fair. But in the waning months of his final term, the bespectacled 71-year-old has gone down the path of many African strongmen, breaking a promise he has frequently made to step down when his term expires December 22.
The current constitution stipulates no president can run for office more than twice, and contains a clause explicitly that stating term limits cannot be amended. Tandja and his supporters say the only way he can stay on is to replace it.
–Agencies