Niger's opposition political partiessay they will pull their representatives out of the Independent ElectoralCommission Wednesday. The move is an attempt to prevent embattled President MamadouTandja's planned referendum from taking place.
The president, whose secondfive-year term ends in December, wants to change the constitution to extend hisrule for three more years. He has called for an August fourth constitutionalreferendum despite intense opposition protest.
Abdullahi Jauri is a member of the nowdissolved Niger parliament. He told VOA that the oppositionwould not condone what he described as President Tandja's antics.
"Today,Wednesday, we are going to withdraw our representatives. We are going to giveour admission to the Independent Electoral Commission because there is nodisposal in the constitution to give the right to the president?so we cannotgive our consent to such masquerade," Jauri said.
Tandja has pressed ahead with his plan to hold thereferendum despite the Constitutional Court ruling that it would be illegal,and despite growing international criticism of his position.
Meanwhile,the president has named former Justice Minister Boube Oumarou to head the newseven-member Constitutional Court, including four magistrates, one lawyer and auniversity professor.
But Jauri described asunfortunate the reconstitution of the court.
"He has no right because inthe constitution, they said that the members of the court are irremovable, butin spite of that he (President Tandja) did it. So, we are going to take actionto see that this referendum will not take place," Jauri said.
He reiterated the need forthe opposition to thwart all attempts to hold a referendum.
"Maybe it is a very riskystand, but now we have to go crescendo to stop this masquerade by any means,"he said.
Jauri said oppositionparliamentary candidates have refused to be part of the upcoming election.
"Look, yesterday was thedate where all the candidates of the members of parliament should take theirfiles in the ministry of internal, they refused to take them," Jauri said.
He said President Tandjaappears to be intolerant of any dissent.
"He is not listening toanybody; he is not listening to ECOWAS (Economic Community of West AfricanStates); he is not listening to the United Africa (African Union); he is notlistening to Ban Ki-Moon (United Nations Secretary General)," he said.
Jauri said Nigeriens areready to resist President Tandja's planned referendum.