UntitledBackground
Niger, one of the world's poorest nations, struggled under severe military rule for much of the period since it gained independence from France in 1960. Progress towards democratization began in the early 1990s; however, the process is hindered by Niger's history of both strong centralized rule and violent power transitions. In 1990, a series of demonstrations and strikes led to the legalization of opposition parties; that same year, however, economically suffering Tuareg tribes revolted in an armed rebellion that did not end until the mid-1990s. In 1999, following the adoption of a new constitution, Niger held successful presidential and legislative multiparty elections. Mamadou Tandja won the presidential election, and his party, the National Movement for the Society in Development, secured a majority of seats in parliament.
In August 2002, soldier-mutineers clashed with loyalist troops in the capital of Niamey and in eastern Niger, raising tensions throughout the country. Controversy over measures used by the government to reassert authority engendered a heated debate between the government and both opposition parties and civil society organizations. In the wake of the mutinies, strong rhetoric from government and opposition leaders hardened attitudes on both sides. In November 2002, the United Nations called for the reactivation of the national electoral commission, and international donors pressured the government to organize local elections as part of the country's decentralization strategy.
Past Activities in Niger
NDI has actively supported democratization efforts in Niger since 1991. In May 2001, NDI re-opened a field office in Niamey to launch a series of programs funded by the United Nations Development Programme that sought to make the Nigerien National Assembly a more effective legislature and support its oversight of the executive branch. NDI's program also focused on improving deputies' contact with their constituencies. In August and September 2001, NDI collaborated with national deputies to conduct a nationwide campaign to solicit citizen input on pending decentralization legislation using radio programs and town hall meetings. In many ways, the mass campaign represented one of the most important political developments in Niger since the transition to civilian rule; NDI estimates that the program reached over one million people while providing the deputies with a new understanding of local problems and concerns.
In October 2001, NDI organized a seminar for deputies on government budgetary procedures, focusing on executive and budgetary oversight and the correlation of public policy priorities to the national budget. NDI also produced a booklet entitled "Understanding the Legislative Process," which explained the role of deputies in the government, and distributed thousands of copies to the public in French, Djerma and Hausa. Additionally, a legislative review was published in February 2002.
In March 2002, NDI helped the Commission des Affaires Générales et Institutionelles (CAGI) organize eight briefings that allowed National Assembly legislators to relay constituents' concerns and requests on approaching decentralization plans.
The Institute extended its partnership with UNDP in May 2002 to continue follow-on activities. NDI published two booklets in October 2002; the first on the National Assembly's budget process and the second on conducting public consultations. In December 2002, NDI conducted three training seminars for deputies and staff on financial management, human resources, and Internet research skills, respectively.
In addition, NDI became a part of the UNDP and the World Bank Institute's initiative to help Niger prepare a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). In November 2001, NDI helped create a steering group of five deputies to coordinate the National Assembly's responsibilities for the PRSP. These legislative responsibilities included overseeing the executive's management of the plan, communicating with the constituents to understand local concerns, and raising those concerns at the national level. The steering group organized briefings for National Assembly committees on the content of the PRSP and designed a radio-based public outreach campaign on the legislature's role in the PRSP that involved public service announcements, call-in radio shows, and radio theater.
Current Activities
Building upon the success of previous technical assistance to the Nigerien National Assembly, NDI organizes activities to improve the legislative and management capacities of the Assembly and its staff, and to increase citizen participation in the legislative process. Principal activities include trainings on budget nomenclature, human resource management, records management, legislative drafting and public hearings. NDI published the first issue of the Legislative Review, including a booklet on parliament-citizen relations in January 2003. A second issue is planned for this year. In a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, NDI will soon begin activities to educate legislatures and the public on their roles in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
NDI assisted the PRSP Working Group of the National Assembly in holding upcountry, public hearings. These hearings enabled citizens to give input on Assembly functions and allowed deputies to interact with their constituents. These exercises were well-received by the local populations and provided the deputies an opportunity to address concerns expressed by their constituents. In some cases, members discussed PRSP and decentralization issues with pre-commune councilors under a small grant from the World Bank Institute.
NDI is developing programs designed to support the electoral process during the local elections planned for late 2003. These programs will focus on promoting women's political participation, improving voter education, and training party poll-watchers.
With funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), NDI is working with political party leaders to build a cross-party coalition to bolster women's participation in the electoral process. Through radio-based programming, roundtables, and skills workshops, the program also provides women with information on their voting rights and responsibilities, how to effectively campaign for public office, and implementation of Niger's new law requiring ten percent of political party candidates and elected officials to be women.
Contact Information
For further information on our programs in Niger, please contact:
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