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Niger Votes on New Constitution

   VOA News 31 October 2010

   Citizens  of Niger are voting on a new constitution that would reverse
   changes pushed through by former president Mamadou Tandja.
   The  new  constitution would re-establish presidential term limits and
   reduce the president's powers.
   Niger's military ousted president Tandja in February, six months after
   he enacted laws aimed at increasing his authority and extending his 10
   years in office.
   That  was  the  country's  fourth  coup d'etat since independence from
   France  in 1960.  Earlier this month, the military government said it
   put down another coup attempt and detained four senior officers.
   The  military  has  promised  to  return  Niger to civilian rule.  If
   approved,  the  new  constitution would clear the way for presidential
   and parliamentary elections in January. Â
   Niger,  a  central  African  nation of about 15 million, is one of the
   world's poorest countries despite rich deposits of uranium.
   The  country  has  endured chronic unrest in recent years, including a
   rebellion  by  ethnic Tuaregs and a series of killings and kidnappings
   by the militant group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

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