Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Niger

Military candidates barred from standing in elections

Country Map - DRC (Katanga province) IRIN
The plane was reported to have crashed last week at Kamina military base, in central Katanga Province
    KINSHASA

    Niger's new military government decreed on Thursday that military
    candidates will be barred from submitting their names as candidates in elections pledged for later this year.

    News organisations quoted a decree signed by the military leader, Major Daouda Mallam Wanke as saying the ban would also apply to himself and the 13 other officers in the country's ruling National Reconciliation Council (NRC).

    Wanke assumed power after members of the presidential guard unit he commanded assassinated President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara on 9 April.

    The decree broadcast on state radio added: "Military personnel will be barred from seeking electoral office even if they have resigned." Wanke has pledged a nine-month transition to civilian rule.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join