Constitution of Niger

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Government

Recent elections

General:

Minister:

The

has had seven constitutions, two substantial

constitutional revisions, and two periods of rule by decree since its

independence from

in 1960. The "

Seventh Republic

operated under the Constitution of 2010 until its dissolution in 2023 by

General

in a

The junta declared a five-

year transitional charter in 2025.

Constitution of 25 February 1959

[

]

The

, a body created from the

, ratified the Constitution of 1959

by a vote of 44 to 8. The Constitution provided a parliamentary system with

limited internal self-government within the

. The former

, remained the head of state, now titled

. Powers including defense, foreign affairs, and

currency were retained by

. On 12 March 1959 the Constituent Assembly

became the

, with the head of government,

, retaining the title of

. Executive powers were

vested in the Assembly. The new Assembly was to have 60 deputies elected for

5-year terms. The constitution established elements, such as the

, the

and the

, along with

language on the naming of political bodies, rights and powers which have been

retained in subsequent texts.

Constitution of 8 November 1960 (First

Republic)

[

]

The Constitution of 8 November 1960 marks the first fully independent

constitutional system of the Republic of Niger: the Nigerien First Republic.

With a constitutional revision in 1965, the system remained in place until the

[

]

This constitution was revised on 7 September 1965.

1974 Military Rule

[

]

Following the

, a military council governed the

nation without recourse to a Constitution until 1989, or a defined civilian

element until 1982. The leader of the 1974 coup, General

ruled

as head of state and President of the

, an

advisory body which after 1982, contained elements of a Council of Ministers,

with an appointed Prime Minister, holding limited powers. A consultative

(CND) replaced the

Political parties were illegal. Following the General's death on 10 November

1987, General

became President of the CSM and began a series of

reforms which led to the Second Republic.

[

]

Constitution of September 1989 (Second

Republic)

[

]

The Constitution of September 1989 established a single political party and a consultative assembly in place of a

National Assembly.

[

]

Constitution of December 1992 (Third Republic)

[

]

The constitution of December 1992 was created over more than a year, following the formation of the civilian

to supersede semi-Military rule.

Ratified on 26 December 1992, approved by

and enacted 22

January 1993, the Constitution created a dual executive system. The President, as Head of State, was popularly elected

to a five-year term, limited to two terms, and named the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, as Head of Government,

was chosen by an 83-person National Assembly, elected by proportional representation. Consequently, by 1994 Niger

faced a President who was a political rival of his own Prime Minister. The National Conference also inserted strong

constitutional provisions guarding

, a commission meant to guard freedom of the press, and explicitly

tasked the Supreme Court with protecting these rights.

Constitution of May 1996 (Fourth Republic)

[

]

The constitution of December 1992 was suspended by a military coup led by

in January 1996. The

Constitution of 12 May 1996 was approved by referendum as the

Fourth Republic

. Following an election disputed

nationally and internationally, Maïnassara declared himself winner in the first round of presidential elections. The

1996 constitution was marked by a very strong executive and the ability to rule by decree. When less than three years

later Maïnassara was himself killed in the coup of 9 April 1999, the military reappointed

prime minister for a transition government and a transitional cabinet consisting of 20 members, most of whom were

civilian to create a new constitution. Coup leader and head of the

(CRN) Major

quickly announced its intention to promulgate a new constitution and institute a return to civilian rule.

The interim government also replaced 7 of Niger's regional military leaders. Wanké announced that he would not run for

the presidency and disqualified all military and security personnel, as well as all members of the transitional

government from standing for election. Wanké named a 60-member independent national election commission to oversee

the establishment of the election roles and the polling. The CRN renounced any form of remuneration during the

transition period and moved to reduce by half the salaries of future members of government.

A new constitution designed to spread power among the president, prime minister, and legislature was approved by

referendum despite an extremely low voter turnout in July 1999.

Constitution of 18 July 1999 (Fifth Republic)

[

]

French

has original

text related to this article:

English

has

original text related to this

article:

's 1999 constitution restores the semi-presidential system of government of the

December 1992 constitution (Third Republic) in which the

elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a

, named by the

president, share executive power. As a reflection of Niger's increasing population, the

was expanded in 2004 to 113 deputies elected for a 5-year

term under a majority system of representation. Political parties must attain at least

5% of the vote in order to gain a seat in the legislature.

Constitution of 18 August 2009 (Sixth Republic)

[

]

In 2009, President

organised

. It offered a

Sixth Republic, with a fully

, the suspension of the 1999

Constitution and a 3 years interim government with Tandja for president. It was

declared illegal by the

but Tandja dissolved the Court and assumed

emergency powers. The opposition boycotted the referendum and the new constitution was adopted with 92.5% of voters

and a 68% turnout, according to official results.

Constitution of 2010 (Seventh Republic)

[

]

Main article:

President

was ousted on 18 February 2010 by a

. The junta, called "

" and led by

, organised the transition. On 31 October 2010, a new

constitution was adopted

with 90.19% in favor and a 52.02% turnout (official results of 25 November).

2025 transitional charter

[

]

On 26 March 2025, a transitional charter replaced the constitution which declared junta leader

President of Niger for a period of five years.

References

[

]

BBC News

. 2023-07-26

. Retrieved

2023-07-27

Decalo, Samuel (1997).

Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.)

. Boston & Folkestone: Scarecrow Press.

: pp.49–51, 100, 133–136

LLMC Digital

(in French).

. Retrieved

22 June

2022

Walter S. Clarke, “The National Conference Phenomenon and the Management of Political Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa,” in

Ethnic Conflict and Democratization in Africa, ed. Harvey Glickman. Atlanta: African Studies Assoc. Press, (1995)

Pearl T. Robinson, “The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa,” Comparative Studies in Society and History

Vol. 36, No. 3 (1994)

Myriam Gervais. Niger: Regime Change Economic Crisis and Perpetuation of Privilege. pp. 86-108. Political Reform in

Francophone Africa, Ed. John Frank Clark, David E. Gardinier. Westview Press (1997)

2008-10-02 at the

and

2 October 2008 at the

(in French)

2010-11-30 at the

, 25 November 2010,

Nigerien Press Agency, website of the Nigerien government.

Mamane, Dalatou (26 March 2025).

. Retrieved

5 April

2025

External links

[

]

Official Portal of the Government of Niger

(in English)

(in French)

Constitutions of Africa

Sovereign states

States with limited

recognition

Dependencies and

other territories

(Spain)

(Portugal)

(France)

(United Kingdom)

This page was last edited on 27 May 2025, at 11:44

(UTC)

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