President of Niger

In the colonial period of history, after the capture of France , the Niger was called the Zinder Military Territory (formed in 1900 and was part of the colony of Upper Senegal and Niger ^[2] ). The territory was ruled by a commissioner from the military administration, whose task was to “pacify” the local population. In 1922 , after the formation of an independent colony of Niger , the possession was ruled by a Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the Minister of Overseas Territories and subordinate to the Governor-General of French West Africa ^[3] . In 1958, Niger received autonomy, and executive power was transferred to the High Commissioner, located in Dakar ^[4] , with the Prime Minister of the autonomy elected by the National Assembly .

On August 3, 1960, Niger gained independence, and on November 8, the National Assembly adopted a constitution (First Republic). Under this constitution, the president was elected publicly for a term of five years ^[5] . The first president of Niger, as an exception, was elected by the National Assembly. Although the constitution allowed the creation of political parties, in fact a one-party system was established in the country ^[6] . After the military coup of April 15, 1974, the president was arrested, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and the ruling party were dissolved. Power passed to the Supreme Military Council, the head of state became its chairman. He was the head of the government. The constitution was suspended, the decrees of the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council had the force of laws ^[7] .

Adopted in a referendum on September 24, 1989, a new constitution (Second Republic). She gave the president broad powers and provided for a one-party system. The second republic did not exist for long. The discontent of the population and the opposition, which resulted in mass demonstrations forced to create a new constitution. The constitution (Third Republic), adopted by general referendum on December 26, 1992, guaranteed the multi-party system for the first time. The chief executive was a president elected in two rounds every five years and reelected no more than once ^[5] . The 1992 Constitution was abolished during the military coup that brought Ibrahim Bare Mainassaru to power. May 12, 1996 held a referendum on the Constitution of the Fourth Republic. The president was given extremely broad powers. The military coup of 1999 abolished this constitution; in the transitional period, the head of state was the Chairman of the Council of National Reorganization.

The constitution on July 18, 1999 (Fifth Republic) basically repeated the constitution of 1992, giving executive power to a president elected for five years at most two terms. The prime minister was appointed by the president. In 2009, President Tanja Mamadu initiated a constitutional referendum. The changes turned the state into a presidential republic , giving the president very broad powers, and removed restrictions on the number of re-elections. Despite opposition protests, the changes were accepted (Sixth Republic). After the constitutional court declared the referendum illegitimate, it was dissolved by the president, causing a constitutional crisis . The aggravated situation in the country led to a military coup , during which the president was arrested, and the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy came to power, with the chairman as head of state.

The current constitution of Niger (the Seventh Republic) was adopted by referendum on October 31, 2010 . According to her, “the president of the republic is the head of state. He personifies the unity of the nation. The president of the republic is above the political parties. He is the guarantor of national independence, national unity, territorial integrity, compliance with the Constitution, international treaties and agreements. It ensures the normal functioning of state structures. ” ^[8]

“The President of the Republic is elected on the basis of universal, free, direct, equal and secret voting for a term of five years, renewable once. In no case, no one person can serve more than two presidential terms or extend the term of a mandate for any reason. ”Any citizen of“ national origin ”of any gender who has reached 35 years of age on the day of application can be elected president. The appointment of the vote, the counting of votes and the announcement of the results is the responsibility of the Constitutional Court. Elections are held in two rounds. The first round is appointed no earlier than 40 and no later than 30 days before the expiration of the powers of the current president. A candidate who gets an absolute majority of votes (50%) in the first round is declared elected. If no candidate gains an absolute majority, the two leading candidates participate in the second round of elections, which takes place no later than 21 days later. The mandate of the new president comes into force on the expiration date of the predecessor. If it is impossible to fulfill his duties, the functions of the president of the republic are temporarily performed by the President of the National Assembly ^[8] .

• List of Heads of State of Niger

• Nizskaya L. O. Republic of Niger. Directory. - M .: Science, 1989. - 227 p. - 3950 copies - ISBN 5-02-016972-2 .
• Decalo, Samuel. Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.). - Boston & Folkestone: Scarecrow Press, 1997. - 486 p. - ISBN 978-0810831360 .
• Kevin Shillington, Editor. Encyclopedia of African History. - Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005. - Vol . 1. - ISBN 1-57958-245-1 .