VZCZCXRO3456
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P 131515Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5026
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0828
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MCC WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NIAMEY 000344 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W J. DENNISON; PLEASE PASS TO USAID/AFR 
PARIS FOR AF WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI EAID NG
SUBJECT: NIGER: FOREIGN MINISTER CONVOKES DIPLOMATIC CORPS 
TO ELABORATE ON PRESIDENT TANDJA'S REASONING BEHIND THE 
CALL FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM 
 
REF: A. NIAMEY 341 
     ¶B. NIAMEY 328 
     ¶C. NIAMEY 234 
     ¶D. NIAMEY 214 
 
NIAMEY 00000344  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Summary.  On May 12, Government of Niger (GON) Foreign 
Minister (FM) Aichatou Mindaoudou convoked the diplomatic 
corps ambassadors and international organizations' resident 
representatives to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to 
elaborate on President Tandja's call for a referendum.  She 
stated that the GON Spokesperson's announcement (ref A) 
together with rumblings around the country and counter 
demonstrations surrounding "Tazarche" (Note: Hausa word 
meaning "let it continue") led her to the conclusion it would 
be useful for her to meet with partners and address any 
questions we may have about the referendum.  She said the 
Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) would be 
charged to organize the referendum, that CENI would seek new 
funding for the referendum since costs for it had not been 
included in CENI's budget request to partners for the general 
elections.  When asked about international observers/monitors 
for the referendum, the FM responded that they would be 
permitted.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  FM Mindaoudou opened the meeting by noting that she 
wanted to make herself available to address any questions the 
diplomatic corps/partners may have concerning the upcoming 
referendum on the Constitution.  She remarked that she knew 
the diplomatic corps followed closely the media reports on 
political matters and likely had seen GON Spokesperson Ben 
Omar's announcement of May 8. She indicated she felt 
compelled to elaborate on the reasoning behind President 
Tandja's most recent call for a referendum.  She noted that 
the nation had been seized with the issue of "Tazarche" for 
the past 18 months.  She emphasized that initially President 
Tandja was totally against it and had consistently remained 
resolute in not speaking on the matter.  She stated she had 
even spoke about Tandja's position on many occasions, 
including on the margins of United Nations meetings in the 
past year.  She stressed that it was after French President 
Sarkozy's visit (ref D) that Tandja's position crystallized. 
She mentioned that the Hausa word for referendum means "vote 
to settle matters between people."  Consequently, Tandja 
decided it was in the best interest of the nation to call for 
a referendum because no one knows whether the 
"pro-Tazarchists" or "anti-Tazarchists" are the majority. 
 
¶3.  Mindaoudou insisted that "Tazarche" has nothing to do 
with prolongation of Tandja's current mandate, that Tandja 
has clearly stated he will not touch the Constitution, that 
he knows he cannot amend the article related to the 
Presidential mandate, not for number of mandates nor term 
length.  She said Tandja is prepared to leave office on 
December 22, 2009, if that's the will of the people.  She 
added that no one questions the legality of Tandja's 
authority to call for a referendum, that it is allowed per 
Article 49 of the Nigerien Constitution.  She opined that 
questions actually have centered around the timing of 
Tandja's decision to call for a referendum.  She said the 
only way the President can know for sure whether those for 
"Tazarche" are majority or minority is to hold the 
referendum.  She again stressed that the President has no 
intention of amending the Constitution, that the only matter 
he wants to resolve relates to the people's wishes with 
regard to the number of Presidential terms.  Highlighting her 
past role in drafting part of the Constitution, she said it 
foresees that the President may submit to the National 
Assembly and Constitutional Court for consultation purposes 
any text he wishes.  That it is the President only who 
decides when to act on his prerogative and how he will use 
the advice emanating from those respective institutions.  She 
reemphasized that the referendum is primarily to determine 
whether Nigeriens want to keep the current Constitution "as 
is" or want a new one to change the number of Presidential 
terms. 
 
¶4.  When asked what margin of vote would be needed for the 
referendum to pass, the FM responded that it only requires a 
simple majority (51 percent). 
 
¶5.  In response to a question about the time period for the 
referendum and whether it would affect the CENI's timetable 
for the general elections, Mindaoudou said the CENI timetable 
for general elections is set and cannot be changed.  She 
 
NIAMEY 00000344  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
added that President Tandja is expected to make a formal 
address to the nation in the very near future, she was 
hopeful before week's end.  As for the timing of the 
referendum, she said it would have to occur before the first 
round of the Presidential election (CENI date is November 14, 
2009), that she would guess the referendum might occur in 
July or August. 
 
¶6.  On the matter of who would be charged to organize the 
referendum and whether the current CENI budget included costs 
for the referendum, the FM confirmed that CENI would be 
charged with organizing the referendum and that CENI will 
seek new funding to cover expenses for the referendum, as the 
referendum had not been taken into account at the time the 
CENI prepared the budget for the general elections.  She 
added the GON would welcome partner support for additional 
funding for the referendum. 
 
¶7.  On the question of whether international monitors or 
observers would be permitted for the referendum, as has been 
the case with past general elections, the FM replied that 
they would be permitted, if partners want to take on that 
task, that the GON wants the referendum to be fair and 
transparent. She closed the meeting by suggesting that all 
stay tuned for Tandja's imminent message. 
ALLEN