Mamadou Tandja - 2004 Election and Second Term

2004 Election and Second Term

Tandja was a candidate for re-election in the 2004 presidential election. In the first round of the election, held on November 16, he took first place with 40.7% of the vote, the rest being divided between five opponents. As in 1999, Mahamadou Issoufou took second place, and he participated in a runoff with Tandja on December 4. Tandja was re-elected in the second round with 65.53% of the vote, with Issoufou receiving the remaining 34.47%. All four of the defeated first round candidates supported Tandja in the second round. He was sworn in for his second term on December 21 at a ceremony at the Général Seyni Kountché Stadium in Niamey, which was attended by six other African presidents.

Although there had been speculation about a possible constitutional change to enable Tandja to run again in 2009, he said in an interview with Le Monde, published on October 6, 2007, that he intended to step down at the end of his second term. However, on December 21, 2008, a large rally was held in front of the National Assembly building in Niamey calling for an extension of Tandja's term by three years, so that it would end on December 22, 2012. According to supporters of this proposal—which also called for extending the mandates of the National Assembly and other institutions—a three-year extension would be beneficial to the course of Niger's development. Prime Minister Seyni Oumarou was among those taking part in the rally. The opposition furiously denounced this proposal, and a large demonstration opposing the proposal was held in Niamey a few days later. On December 30, 20 non-governmental organizations and unions, including the Democratic Confederation of Workers of Niger (CDTN), formed the United Front for the Safeguarding of Democratic Gains (FUSAD) in opposition to the extension proposal, and they called on Tandja—who had up to that point expressed no opinion on the matter in public—to speak out against the proposal.