Overview
From August 11 to September 3, 2001, NDI supported financially by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), assisted the National Assembly of Niger in the organization and implementation of a historic, nationwide public consultation campaign. Over the course of the campaign, a total of approximately 15,000 people attended 30 town hall meetings at which nearly 1000 people told the representatives what they thought of the government's decentralization legislation that the National Assembly would consider in their next legislative session.
Decentralization Legislation
The decentralization legislation was drafted by the Government and forwarded to the National Assembly for their consideration in 2001. Only two of the bills were controversial: one specifying where the boundaries of 230 new communes with locally elected representatives would be drawn, and the other designating the capital of each commune. Having heard numerous complaints from their constituents, deputies were well aware of potential problems with the two aforementioned bills. To diffuse tensions, the National Assembly resolved to collect more information from citizens to understand their central concerns prior to the October 2001 legislative session when the deputies were scheduled to consider the new plan. To this end, the National Assembly committed itself to a public outreach campaign assisted by NDI and consisting of 30 town hall meetings and 10 national radio shows across the country.
Public Consultations
In early July, NDI met with all of the deputies, the Assembly leadership, standing committees, political parties and civic groups to discuss NDI's involvement in the outreach campaign. National Assembly President Ousmane also endorsed the project and held a national press conference on August 10 to discuss the public outreach campaign. This event raised public awareness on the campaign and reinforced a palpable sense of "history-in-the making" excitement. Working with the Assembly leadership, the Committee on General and Institutional Affairs (CAGI), which considers all the Assembly texts, and Assembly President Ousmane, NDI mapped out a four-week cross-country public outreach campaign led by three teams. Each team was led by one vice president of the Assembly and also included two or three deputies from the CAGI, at least one member from another Assembly committee, a representative from the Ministry of the Interior and from the High Commission on Administrative Reform and Decentralization, an Assembly staff member and at least two NDI representatives. This collaboration set an important precedent in legislative/executive relations. In addition, the president of the National Assembly, Mahamane Ousmane, participated in 15 town hall meetings with three different groups to give the forums a high-level presence, and deputies from each region visited were invited to participate in the meetings in their districts. In the end, 65 of the 83 deputies attended at least one public meeting, either as a member of a team or as a regional host.
In each of the 30 town hall meetings, lasting about two hours, deputies communicated with their constituents, explaining the legislative process, particularly the future role and responsibilities of the locally-elected officials and their constituents. The High Commission on Administrative Reform and Decentralization also addressed the audience, composed of an average of 500 people ranging from small-scale rural farmers and nomads to intellectuals and wealthy traditional leaders, representing the diverse ethnic groups and social interests. The delegations described how the sub-region in question would be divided under the decentralization plan before the Assembly.
In return, members of the audience expressed their concerns on the question of decentralization, and the legislative delegation responded briefly to questions and comments, providing technical clarification where necessary and assuring the audience that their comments would be transmitted to the full Assembly. An average of 35 citizens spoke at each town hall meeting, experiencing the workings of democracy as was clearly understood by one audience member who said, "You have to ask people what they think - that's democracy." Furthermore, the mission generated nationwide public interest, as people realized that they could affect the outcome of legislation by communicating with their representatives. During the month of September, the CAGI received approximately 100 letters and petitions from citizens and interest groups concerning the decentralization plan. In addition, the mission prompted citizens to contact their representatives in person. This response by the public evoked a nonpartisan rhetoric to which the deputies had committed themselves in an effort to present a common public image of a multipartisan delegation of professional parliamentarians with the sole mission of listening to the people and noting their concerns.
Contact Information
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