Mahamane Ousmane

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Mahamane Ousmane
President of Niger
In office 1993 – 1996
Prime Minister	Mahamadou Issoufou Souley Abdoulaye Hama Amadou
Preceded by	Ali Saibou
Succeeded by	Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
Majority	54.42% (2nd round 1993)
President of the National Assembly of Niger
Incumbent
Assumed office  1999
Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office  2006
Born	20 January 1950
Nationality	Nigerien
Political party	Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama

Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950)^[1] is a Nigerien political figure. He was the first democratically elected president of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993^[2] until his ouster in a military coup d'état on 27 January 1996. He has continued to run for president in each election since his ouster, and he has been president of the country's National Assembly since December 1999. He is also the President of the Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama (CDS) party.^[3]

Contents 1 1993 Presidential election 2 President 3 1996 coup 4 1996 Presidential elections 5 1999 Presidential elections 6 1996 National Assembly elections 7 ECOWAS office 8 2003 Elections 9 Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament 10 See also 11 References

[edit] 1993 Presidential election

Ousmane, the candidate of the CDS, ran for president in the election held on February 27, 1993. He received second place, with 26.59% of the vote, behind Tandja Mamadou of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD); however, with the backing of a coalition of parties known as the Alliance of the Forces of Change (AFC), Ousmane won the presidency in the second round, held on March 27, taking 54.42%.^[4][5]

[edit] President

During the first part of Ousmane's term, the AFC, which included Ousmane's party, held a parliamentary majority. In September 1994, however, Ousmane issued a decree that reduced the powers of the prime minister; the resignation of prime minister Mahamadou Issoufou soon followed, along with the withdrawal of his party, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), from the governing coalition. This left the coalition without a parliamentary majority; despite this, Ousmane appointed his CDS ally Souley Abdoulaye as prime minister, but the parliament quickly passed a vote of no confidence against Abdoulaye. Consequently, new parliamentary elections were called for January 1995. These elections resulted in a victory for the opposition, composed of a new alliance between the MNSD and the PNDS, and forced cohabitation between Ousmane and a government headed by MNSD Prime Minister Hama Amadou. This resulted in sharp rivalry and government deadlock; beginning in April, Ousmane refused to attend meetings of the Council of Ministers although he was constitutionally required to do so, and in July Amadou replaced the heads of state-owned companies, a move which Ousmane wanted to be reversed. Amadou also tried to assume the presidential role with regard to the Council of Ministers. Tensions continued to escalate, and Ousmane made clear his intention to dissolve the parliament and call new elections after the passing of one year (he was constitutionally prohibited from doing so sooner).

[edit] 1996 coup

However, in late January 1996 Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara seized power in a military coup, pointing to the disordered political situation as justification.^[5] Ousmane was arrested and held at a military barracks for five days; he was then placed under house arrest until April 24, as were Amadou and Issoufou.^[6] In February, Ousmane was put on television, along with Amadou and Issoufou, to express the view that flaws in the operation of the political system were the cause of the coup, and to call for changes in the system.^[5]

[edit] 1996 Presidential elections

Ousmane received second place, with 19.75% of the vote, in the July 7 – July 8, 1996 presidential election, which was won by Maïnassara;^[4] on the second day of polling he was again placed under house arrest and was freed after two weeks.^[6] Following a pro-democracy demonstration on 11 January 1997, Ousmane was arrested along with Tandja and Issoufou and held until 23 January.^[7]

[edit] 1999 Presidential elections

Ousmane took third place, with 22.51% of the vote, in the October 1999 presidential election, which occurred after the assassination of Maïnassara; he placed slightly behind second-place finisher Issoufou and therefore did not participate in the run-off held in November.^[4] Ousmane gave his support to Tandja, and Tandja defeated Issoufou to win the second round.^[8]

[edit] 1996 National Assembly elections

The November 1999 parliamentary election gave a majority to an alliance of Tandja's MNSD and Ousmane's CDS.^[4][9] Ousmane was elected to the National Assembly from Zinder constituency,^[10] and on December 29, 1999, he was elected President of the National Assembly.^[1]

[edit] ECOWAS office

Ousmane was elected as the President of the Interparliamentary Committee of the West African Economic and Monetary Union on March 9, 2003, at its 12th session, and he was re-elected to that post at the 13th session in March 2004.^[11] He was also elected as the President of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on January 15, 2004.^[1]

[edit] 2003 Elections

Ousmane was again chosen as the CDS presidential candidate at the party's fifth extraordinary congress, held on September 18, 2004.^[12] He took third place in the November 2004 presidential election, with 17.4% of the vote.^[4] Following the December 2004 parliamentary election, Ousmane was re-elected President of the National Assembly on December 16.^[3]

[edit] Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament

On November 14, 2006, Ousmane was elected as Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, defeating another Nigerien politician, Moumouni Adamou Djermakoye, by 58 votes to 37. He will lead the regional parliament's second legislature through a four year transition period, which is set to end in 2010. In this position, he faces the task of coordinating the processes that would facilitate the introduction of direct universal suffrage in the election of members of the Parliament.^[13]

[edit] See also

• History of Niger

[edit] References

Preceded by Ali Saibou	President of Niger 1993–1996	Succeeded by Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
Preceded by Moutari Moussa	President of the National Assembly of Niger 1999–	Succeeded by n/a
Preceded by Nouhoum Ali Diallo	Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament 2006–	Succeeded by n/a

v • d • e Heads of State of Niger Hamani Diori • Seyni Kountché • Ali Saibou • Mahamane Ousmane • Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara • Daouda Malam Wanké • Tandja Mamadou