Niger: Democracy Under Threat

Niger: Democracy Under Threat

Brussels, 12 June 2009 (ITUC OnLine): According to the seven Nigerien trade union organisations within the Intercentrale CDTN-CGSL-CNT-UGSEIN-UGTN-USPT-USTN inter-union grouping, democratic stability is under serious threat in Niger. President Mamadou Tandja is pushing for a referendum aimed at changing the Nigerien Constitution so that he can run for a third term.

This situation has come about following the Constitutional Court's rejection, on 25 May, of his call for a referendum. The National Assembly was dissolved the following day.

In a letter to the Nigerien authorities http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/2009-06-09-troisieme_mandat_presidentiel__3_.pdf the ITUC has called on President Mamadou Tandja to immediately restore constitutional order, to respect the rulings of the Constitutional Court and to abandon the plans to hold a referendum on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. "Full respect for trade union rights is an absolute necessity in this country, as in the whole of Africa," said Guy Ryder, general secretary of the ITUC.

ENDS

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