The

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

National Assembly (''Assemblée nationale'') is

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages1974 Nigerien coup d'état The 1974 Nigerien coup d'état was a largely bloodless military insurrection which overthrew the first postcolonial government of Niger. The government that followed, while plagued by coup attempts of its own, survived until 1991. Background The ...

. During the course of military rule (1974–1991) a consultative body (the ''High Council of the Republic of Niger'') was reformed to become analogous to a National Assembly. This functioned as a caretaker National Assembly during the Constitutional Convention period of the Second Republic (1991–1993) and was reconstituted as the National Assembly in the Third Republic (1993–1996). Following the

1996 Nigerien coup d'état The 1996 Nigerien coup d'état was a military coup d'état which occurred on 27 January 1996 in Niamey, Niger. It ousted Niger's first democratically elected president, Mahamane Ousmane after nearly three years in power and installed General Ibr ...

the National Assembly was again suspended, and reinstituted in 1997 under the Fourth Republic. Again, following the

1999 Nigerien coup d'état The 1999 Nigerien coup d'état occurred on 9 April 1999 and resulted in the death of President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara and the installation of Daouda Malam Wanké as President on 11 April. Maïnassara was shot under unclear circumstances in an ...

, the National Assembly was suspended, but this time was reconstituted within the year under the Fifth Republic. (1999–present)

2009 dissolution of assembly

On 27 May 2009, the assembly was dissolved by

Tandja Mamadou 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 MNSD ...

after his plan to hold a

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 ...

was rejected by the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

. Although the court and the National Assembly had only a non-binding advisory role over Tandja's referendum plan, statements by

MNSD-Nassara The National Movement for the Development of Society (french: Mouvement National pour la Société du Développement, MNSD-Nassara) is a political party in Niger. Founded under the military government of the 1974–1990 period, it was the ruling ...

's coalition partners CDS-Rahama indicate the MNSD Prime Minister of Niger, as well as the President, would be open to a

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

motion in the assembly. According to the 1999

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, the President is limited to stand for reelection once: Tandja's second five-year term was to end on 22 December 2009. The purpose of the proposed referendum was to scrap the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, creating a new Sixth Republic prior to the November Presidential elections. Constitutionally, the articles dealing with presidential terms (article 36) may not be revised by any method (article 136). According to Tandja, the people of Niger want him to stay because he has boosted the economy of Niger. The opposition described this act as dictatorship, calling for protests: a continuation of demonstrations which began in December 2008.

Powers

Under the

Constitution of the Fifth Republic The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a Consti ...

(18 July 1999), the National Assembly has oversight of the executive in voting on legislation, overriding a Presidential veto, voting no confidence in the Prime Minister, and the reserved right of nominating the Prime Minister. As well, the Assembly has recourse to publicly investigate the executive through committee hearings, hearing in plenary sittings, commissions of enquiry, formal parliamentary questions, "

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

", and Interpellations. There is no formal parliamentary

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

oversight of government. Under a

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

of government briefly instituted in 2009–2010, the National Assembly had no power over the selection of the Prime Minister and could not hold a vote of no confidence in the government; however, it also could not be dissolved by the President. As part of the constitutional change, the introduction of a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

was planned, at which point the National Assembly would have become the lower house of a bicameral parliament. However, all the changes proved abortive, as President

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 MNSD ...

, who had orchestrated them, was ousted in a February 2010 coup.

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 in the 2011 Election and the National Assembly's powers were restored.

Composition

The current National Assembly, formed following elections held on 21 February 2016, has 171 members, up from 113 members in 2003, elected for a five-year term. The multi-seat constituency members are elected using a party-list (''Scrutin de liste'') proportional representation system. The remaining eight seats are single constituency, elected by a first-past-the-post system. One element of the

Judiciary of Niger The current judiciary of Niger was established with the creation of the Fourth Republic in 1999. The constitution of December 1992 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and, again, by referendum, revised to the current version on 18 J ...

, the High Court of Justice, is composed of Deputies elected from within the National Assembly. Member of the National Assembly for the

Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism The Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (french: Parti Nigerien pour la Democratie et le Socialisme, PNDS-Tarayya) is a political party in Niger. It is a broadly left-leaning party, part of the Socialist International, and since 2011 it h ...

Ousseini Tinni Ousseini Tinni (born 10 December 1954) is a Nigerien politician of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism. He was President of the National Assembly from 25 March 2016 until 23 March 2021. Career Tinni was born in Tinoma, in the Dosso R ...

, was chosen to be the President of the National Assembly after the 2016 elections.

Sessions

The National Assembly sits for two "''ordinary''" sessions a year, usually the first during March–June and the second from August to October, meeting at the National Assembly Building in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...

. So-called "''extraordinary''" sessions, lasting from a few hours to a week, occur two or more times a year. Since the year 2000, the National Assembly has ratified between 10 and 30 laws, spending plans, and treaties in each ordinary session. The internal functioning of the Assembly is governed by the 1999 Constitution of the 5th Republic and by the Law n° 97 – 006/AN of 5 June 1997FONCTIONNEMENT DE L'Assemblée nationale: www.assemblee.ne

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Assembly of Niger Government of Niger

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPolitics of Niger Political organisations based in Niger Niamey