Government of Niger - Executive Branch

Executive Branch

The Head of State is the President of Niger. Under the 1999 Constitution, the President has many of the powers found under a Presidential System as Head of Government, although the titular Head of Government is the Prime Minister of Niger.

Niger's 1999 constitution restores the semi-presidential system of government of the December 1992 constitution (Third Republic) in which the President of the Republic is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a prime minister, named by the president, share executive power. The Prime Minister is subject to recall by the National Assembly through a no confidence vote. The President may not remove the Prime Minister, but may dissolve the National Assembly (although this is limited to once every two years). The President, PM, or Legislature may propose legislation. Legislation is subject to Presidential Veto, which may be overridden by the National Assembly by a vote of 50%+1.

The Constitution of the Fifth Republic differs from that of the Third by giving greater powers to the President. The Third Republic faced intractable political crisis having found itself in 1995 in a "Cohabitation": a Prime Minister and President of different parties which were unable to forge a working consensus. The Fifth Republic resembles the Semi-Presidential system seen in the French Fifth Republic.