Algeria proposes six-month transition period for Niger

Algeria has proposed a six-month “reasonable median period” to restore constitutional and democratic order in Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa.

In a public document which it described as President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s initiative to resolve the Niger crisis, Algeria recommended a political solution under the leadership of a “consensual civilian figure” to ensure a return to constitutional order within the proposed period.

A statement issued to the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday said the political solution to the Niger crisis was possible and proposed the granting of adequate guarantees to all concerned parties to ensure the sustainability and acceptance of that solution.

“The Algeria initiative aims to enable all possible political solutions to be envisaged (elections, the return of President Bazoum, an inter-Nigerien agreement for an extension of the deadline for the organisation of elections, or any other political arrangement) with the support of the people of Niger, an inclusive approach for the peaceful return of the constitutional order in Niger,” it said.

Niger’s coup leaders, in August this year, announced a three-year transition of power, after seizing power on July 26, 2023.

The West African regional bloc; the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is considering a potential military operation to reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum if ongoing negotiations with coup leaders failed.

Algeria said its proposed political solution would grant amnesty and protection from prosecution for the perpetrators of the coup, President Bazoum, his family, and the members of his government.

“The principle of these guarantees has been performed in the past and is already enshrined in the Constitution of the VII Republic of Niger,” the document said.

Algeria said it would work to organise an international conference on the development of the Sahel Region with the aim of promoting a development-based approach to the multidimensional challenges facing countries in that region.

The international community’s initiatives to put an end to the instability and insecurity in the Sahel Region had focused on military-political approach, neglecting the economic and development dimension.

“Algeria intends to work towards the organisation of an international conference, under the aegis of the United Nations, focusing on the financing of development in the Sahel, particularly through the mobilisation of funds earmarked for this purpose.”