Niger junta appoints transitional government

Mar 2, 2010, 11:39 GMT

   Nairobi/Niamey, Niger - Niger's junta has created a transitional government of 20 ministers almost two weeks after seizing power from ousted president Mamadou Tandja.

   Junta leader Salou Djibo, in a statement broadcast on state TV and radio Monday evening, said that five generals were to be included in the government, which would serve until elections could be organised.

   No date was given for the polls.

   Dissident soldiers stormed the presidential palace on January 18 and arrested Tandja, 71, whose attempts to cling to power beyond his second term were blamed for triggering the coup.

   The junta, calling itself the Supreme Council for Restoration of Democracy, promised to hold elections and last week appointed Mahamadou Danda, 59, as prime minister.

   The coup was welcomed domestically and condemned internationally, although the consensus of opinion was that Tandja brought the putsch upon himself. Diplomats and analysts said they saw an opportunity to resolve the political crisis.

   Tandja came to power in elections, generally considered free and fair, following a coup in 1999. The junta said it took power to restore stability in Niger and, as in 1999, would allow a speedy return to civilian rule.

   The president last year rode roughshod over parliament and the constitutional court to extend his rule by three years and allow himself a chance at another term, raising tensions in the uranium-rich nation.

   Tandja argued that he had to extend his term to oversee mining and energy deals that he claimed would pull the former French colony out of poverty.

   The ousted president, a former army officer, is still being held by the junta, which has yet to reveal its plans for him.