The Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Conseil suprême pour la Restauration de la Démocratie'', or CSRD), led by

Salou Djibo Lieutenant General Salou Djibo (born 15 April 1965) is a Nigerien Army officer. After President Mamadou Tandja's attempts to remain in power after the end of his term, Djibo led the military coup of 18 February 2010 that ousted Tandja, after w ...

, was a

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

that staged a coup in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPresident President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Mamadou Tandja Mamadou Tandja (1938 – 24 November 2020) was a Nigerien politician who was President of Niger from 1999 to 2010. He was President of the National Movement for the Development Society (MNSD) from 1991 to 1999 and unsuccessfully ran as the MNS ...

in response to Tandja's attempts to remain in office after his term was over. The CSRD stated that its objective is to make Niger an example of "democracy and

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

." During the two days following the coup, thousands of people demonstrated in the streets to support the military government and its stated intention of installing democracy. The junta scheduled a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

later that year to ask the public whether the junta should hand over power within the year, which passed successfully. As stipulated by the referendum, the junta scheduled free and fair

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

for 2011, in which former opposition leader

Mahamadou Issoufou Mahamadou Issoufou (born 1 January 1952) is a Nigerien politician who served as the President of Niger from 7 April 2011 to 2 April 2021. Issoufou was the prime minister of Niger from 1993 to 1994, president of the National Assembly from 1995 t ...

was elected president, and returned control of the government.

Members

* Col.

, Chairman * Col. Djibrilla Hima Hamidou, had been spokesman in the 1999 coup * Col. Goukoye Abdul Karimou, junta spokesman * Col.

Adamou Harouna Major (or possibly Colonel) Abdoulaye Adamou Harouna (whose name is also reported as Harouna Adamou) is a Nigerian military figure who led the military coup which overthrew President Mamadou Tandja on February 18, 2010. Harouna led the coup actio ...

, aide-de-camp of 1999 coup leader Maj. Daouda Mallam Wanke.Niger's military coup is condemned by France and Africa
BBC

Actions

The CSRD suspended Niger's constitution and dissolved all state institutions. It placed President Mamadou Tandja in captivity at a military barracks on 18 February 2010. On 2 March 2010, the CSRD announced the interim government of Niger—which included three generals with ties to Tandja—and reiterated their promise to return to democracy. They have also announced that CSRD members and politicians from the interim government will not stand in elections.

Referendum and elections in 2010–11

In late 2010 the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy organized a

constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. In early 2011, a

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and a

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

were held in Niger. Former opposition leader

was elected as president, and the CSRD peacefully transferred power soon after.

References

2010 in Niger Military dictatorships {{Niger-stub