Niger President Mamadou Tandja has dissolved parliament by decree following a constitutional court's decision to not extend his time in office. He instead is opting to hold a referendum among the country's voters on his bid for a third term as president. Opponents have accused him of trying to turn the country into a dictatorship.
The proposal for a referendum has been ruled against by the Constitutional Court of Niger, which maintained that Article 49 of the Constitution, on which president Tandja's arguments are based, cannot be construed as a basis for a constitutional change. Human rights campaigner Abdoul Kamara Dine said it reminded him of the worst kind of African dictatorships from the 1970s.
According to Pierre Emangongo, Tandja's move will attract attention and possible sanctions from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.
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