Niger’s national committee proposes a return to civilian rule after five years

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A national committee to chart Niger’s future proposed Thursday that the junta-ruled country return to civilian administration in five years under new rules that strictly limit the number of political parties. The junta leader expressed his support for the plan.

The National Conference, made up of 700 community leaders including members of the country’s diaspora, submitted the plan Thursday to the junta that seized power in the West African nation in July 2023.

The plan includes abolishing all of the country’s current political parties and drafting new rules that authorize no more than five parties. The current junta would stay in power during the five-year period and the junta leader, Brig. Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, would be allowed to stand as a candidate in proposed elections.

Tchiani welcomed the proposal and pledged to carry it out. “I am committed to fulfilling the sovereign people’s hope. You have done your part; I will do mine,” Tchiani said.

Niger and its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso have battled for over a decade an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance.

The security situation in the Sahel region has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces. The violence in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has killed more than 3,470 people in the last six months while 2.6 million people are currently displaced, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

After coming into power, the juntas in the three countries left the Economic Community of West African States, the nearly 50-year-old regional bloc known as ECOWAS, and created their own security partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States, in September last year.

Some analysts described it as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors.

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By DALATOU MAMANE
Associated Press