NIGER
Parliamentary Chamber: Assemblée nationale

ELECTIONS HELD IN 1996

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Chamber:
  Assemblée nationale


Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

  23 November 1996


Purpose of elections:

  Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly following the premature dissolution of this body on 27 January 1996 (military coup). General elections had previously been held in January 1995.


Background and outcome of elections:

  Following the military coup d'Etat of January 1996 which resulted in the dissolution of the National Assembly elected a year earlier, the National Salvation Council (CSN) armed forces régime published an election timetable. Under its terms, parliamentary polling was set for September 1996. In the meantime, a provisional legislative body, the National Forum for Democratic Renewal, was convened.

In early July, Brigadier General Ibrahim Baré Mainassara, who had led the January coup, was elected President of the Republic in controversial circumstances. The following month, a new Government headed by Prime Minister Boukari Adji was formed; he announced that its priorities would be to tackle the problems of the country's rural citizenry and, secondly, recovery in the economic and financial sectors.

After being twice postponed for organisational reasons, the poll was set for November, with campaigning scheduled for 18 October to 8 November. Shortly before this period however, the eight opposition parties, grouped within the Front for the Restoration of Democracy (FRDD), decided to boycott the elections due to several of their unfulfilled conditions, including the restoration of the independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) in its original form. A total of 212 candidates ultimately ran for the 83 Assembly seats.

Polling day, monitored by international observers and generally peaceful, saw a turnout that was officially announced as just over 39%; this figure was questioned by the opposition. Final results gave candidates supporting President Baré 69 seats, 58 of these going to the newly founded National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal (UNIRD).

On 21 December, a new Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Cissé Amadou was formed.

STATISTICS
Round no 1 (23 November 1996): Elections results  
Voters 39.17%

Round no 1: Distribution of seats  
Political Group Total
National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal (UNIRD) 58
Other parties supporting the President 11
Niger Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP) 8
Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) 3
Independents coalition 3


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Copyright © 1996 Inter-Parliamentary Union