Niger

E

Transport

Niger has some 14,565 km (9,050 mi) of roads, of which about 25 per cent are paved. In 1997 the country had 4 passenger cars per 1,000 people. An international airport serves Niamey; the country has about 30 smaller airfields, including those at Agadez, Zinder, and Maradi. Niger is a participating member of Air Afrique. Seagoing vessels can reach Niamey, along the Niger, between March and September.

F

Communications

Government-controlled radio and television services broadcast in several languages to an estimated (2000) 1,306,000 radios and 395,380 television sets. The daily newspaper is Le Sahel (circulation 5,000), published in Niamey.

V

Government

Until the military coup of April 15, 1974, Niger was governed under a 1960 constitution. Subsequently, the Supreme Military Council, headed by a president, became the nation’s main governing body. A new constitution approved by referendum in September 1989 nominally returned the country to civilian rule. In 1991 this constitution was suspended and a transitional government established which set up a new constitution approved by referendum in December 1992 (revised again 1996 and 1999). It provided for a multi-party democracy, with a directly elected president who would serve a five-year term, renewable once. The directly elected 113-member National Assembly has a maximum five-year term.

A

Executive and Legislature

The 1989 constitution called for Niger to be governed by a president, directly elected for a seven-year term, and by a directly elected National Assembly. The National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD) was the sole legal political party. A constitutional conference, convened in 1991, stripped the president of his powers and established a transitional legislative body, the High Council of the Republic. Under the 1992 constitution the president appointed the prime minister from the largest parliamentary party, with the prime minister and Cabinet as the executive body.

After the January 1996 coup the government and assembly were dissolved and a new constitution was approved in a national referendum in May 1996. Under this constitution, the president held sole executive power, with the prime minister executing policies as directed by him. A new constitution, promulgated in August 1999, distributed power more equally between the president, the prime minister, and the National Assembly. The president’s term of office is now five years. The latest legislative elections were held in December 2004; the National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD), the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism and allies (PNDS), and the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS) hold the largest number of seats.

B

Political Parties

The main parties are the MNSD and the CDS. Other main parties include the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), and the Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP).