Crisis talks on Niger start in Abuja

ABUJA (AFP) – West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Monday began crisis talks on Niger in the wake of a disputed election soon after a delegation from the troubled country arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

The mediator appointed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), former Nigerian military ruler Abdusalami Abubakar, opened the talks with Niamey's 22-member delegation.

"You are very much aware there were some political happenings in your country that brought us to this meeting today," Abubakar told the team led by ex-prime minister Seini Oumarou, who heads Niger's ruling party.

The 15-member ECOWAS last month decided to suspend Niger from its fold after President Mamadou Tandja and his allies ignored the bloc's call for a delay in holding a legislative poll to allow a dialogue with the opposition.

The highly controversial elections were held on October 20 and boycotted by Niger's opposition, which was already at odds with Tandja when he in August held a referendum to extend his mandate by three years.

Tandja has been in power for almost 10 years and was due to step down in December, but he defied internal opposition and the constitutional court to hold the referendum, which also opens the way to further terms in office.

Other members of the delegation present in Abuja were Cheiffou Amadou, the president of the social and economic council of Niger, a government agency, and Hamid Algabid, head of the local government council. Both represent political parties that back Tandja.

"Based on the happenings in your country, the ECOWAS heads of state in their wisdom appointed me as the mediator and his excellency, President Mamadou Tandja, accepted that I mediate. This is why you are here," Abubakar stated.

Abubakar, who in May 1999 handed over power to an elected civilian government, expressed the hope that "we will have a useful deliberation in order to make sure that peace and tranquility in Niger remains on course."

An ECOWAS official said that Monday's talks would be followed by another round of discussions with the opposition on Thursday as a prelude to a wider stakeholder forum on Niger at a later date.

The European Union has suspended development aid to Niger and given the authorities there a month to begin talks on a return to "constitutional order", EU sources in Brussels said on Friday.

The EU has accused Tandja of "violation of the constitution" by forging ahead with the constitutional referendum of August 4.

Tandja's move was widely opposed in Niger by the trade unions and a number of civil society organisations as well as the political opposition.