Posted on 08/09/2009 5:44:43 PM PDT by Loyalist
Mamadou Tandja, president of the desert nation of Niger, has secured another three years in office and unlimited runs at future terms, in a referendum that opposition officials have called a coup d’etat in all but name.
Tandja, a 71-year-old former army colonel, who had promised to step down after his second term expired in December, thanked voters even before the official results were announced on Friday by the country’s electoral commission.
Giant posters appeared in the capital of Niamey by Thursday, expressing gratitude for the “renewed confidence” of voters. The commission said Tandja’s proposal for a new constitution received the approval of 92.5% of voters, in an election with a 68% turnout.
Opposition leaders said they did not trust the results and vowed to continue protests that began in May, when Tandja announced his intention to stay in power. Tens of thousands of people have protested.
Tandja’s move to extend his tenure, condemned by the US and the European Union, was seen as another setback for democracy in the region.
In Niamey, the centre of the opposition movement, in a country where roughly 70% of the people are illiterate, Tandja’s determination to stay in power was met with hostility. Leading figures in civil society called for a boycott of the referendum.
Niger’s Constitutional Court had ruled that Tandja could not hold the referendum, but he dissolved the court in June and replaced its members. He also dismissed parliament and arrested opposition figures.
“The numbers they gave are totally false,” said Mohammed Bazoum, vice-president of the Niger Party for Democracy and Socialism. “The only people who voted were those who voted yes,” he said, explaining that opponents did not wish to vote in a referendum that had been deemed illegal.
In the new constitution, Tandja is named as “the exclusive holder of executive power”. — ©2009 The New York Times News Service
The mods just had a coronary! LOL
Hmmm...you know for a moment I had to think about whom you were referring to.
LOL...could see it coming!
The Kenyan Imposter is impressed, takes notes.
Dangerous headline there, one little spelling error and POW!
Preview of coming attractions.
May America have the courage to do what Honduras did when this happens here.
Me TOO!!!
(note to self....make that Lenscrafters appointment..ASAP)
If you are going to insult our President this way, I guess it’s just as well that you can’t spell. The lamestream media would pick up on it in no time, and the lefty bloggers, etc.
I wonder why Obama condemned Niger's President for a successful coup, but didn't condemn Honduras' President for unsuccessfully trying the same exact thing?
This thread is doomed to the fate of the first thoughtless reply...don’t be that guy. Chris Matthews is getting a tingle up his leg right now.
I think you might have misread the title and did not read the article...
That’s the exact title in the linked article: “Niger president tightens grip on power”
O.O
Hondurans now know how fragile freedom is. I wish every American did.
Sounds just like our 2012 & 2010 elections are going to happen. God help America
I was joking.
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