The president is directly elected to up to two five-year terms. President Mahamadou Issoufou was reelected for a second term in 2016. The year’s elections took place in a context of political tension, as Amadou, Issoufou’s most significant challenger, was jailed during the entire electoral process, accused of involvement in a baby-trafficking scandal. The elections themselves were plagued with irregularities including vote buying, underage voting, and rigging of election results.

President Issoufou has promised to respect the constitutional term limit and leave office in 2021. In March 2019, the ruling Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), selected Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum as its presidential candidate in the 2020 election.

There are 171 seats in the unicameral National Assembly, 158 of which are directly elected from 8 multimember constituencies; 8 which are reserved for minority representatives, who are elected directly from special single-seat constituencies; and 5 that are reserved for Nigeriens living abroad.

In the 2016 polls, PNDS won 75 seats in the 171-seat legislature, while Amadou’s Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation (MODEN/FA) won 25 seats, and former prime minister Seini Oumarou’s National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD) took 20 seats. Thirteen smaller parties divided the remaining seats. The elections took place as several opposition candidates were held in prison after being accused of involvement in a foiled coup attempt, or participation in unauthorized protests. The polls, held concurrently with the year’s presidential election, were plagued by similar irregularities.

The electoral code offers a framework for fair elections. However, the opposition, pointing to reports of widespread irregularities in the 2016 polls, among other issues, has cast doubt over the impartiality and capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which with the Constitutional Court approves lists of candidates and validates election results.

In 2017, the government and the opposition disagreed once again over the appointment of a new electoral commission to organize the 2020 presidential and legislative elections; the government unilaterally appointed the new electoral commission after the opposition boycotted the process.

In June 2019, Parliament adopted a new electoral code. In October the electoral commission launched the process of enrollment in a biometric voter list, which the country has pledged to use for the first time in 2020.

As the December 2020 elections approached, the opposition continues its boycott of the electoral process, rejecting the electoral commission and the electoral code adopted in June 2019 as “tailor-made” to serve the interest of the ruling majority.

By law, political parties may freely organize and conduct their activities. However, the PNDS-led government has employed a variety of tactics to interfere in the operation of opposition parties, including persecution of opposition leaders and the co-optation of key opposition figures. In 2017, opposition leader Hama Amadou, while in exile in France, was sentenced to one year in prison for alleged involvement in a baby-trafficking operation. He lost an appeal of the sentence in April 2018, and that June was removed from his seat in the National Assembly. In November 2019, Amadou returned from exile and is now serving his sentence in prison.

In 2018, other members of the opposition were temporarily arrested on charges of participation in unauthorized protests. The electoral rules prevent candidates from running campaigns before the start of the campaign period in December 2020, but the opposition has accused Mohamed Bazoum of campaigning unlawfully, as he tours the country to mobilize his supporters.

In theory, the opposition can mobilize support and increase its membership. However, the opposition has suffered from a lack of leadership, partly due to the absence of Amadou, who is now in prison after spending three years in exile. Opposition parties are divided into five different coalitions and face serious difficulties in challenging the overwhelming dominance of the ruling coalition. In addition, the government’s continuous repression of members of the opposition and attempts to co-opt key leaders have further hindered the opposition’s ability to mobilize its base and gain power through elections. Members of the opposition have raised alarms over the rising insecurity in several regions, in particular in Tillabéri, which is the opposition’s stronghold. Such insecurity could seriously hinder the opposition’s ability to campaign and could potentially disturb polling operations in the region. In late 2019, the rise of violence and insecurity in Tillabéri and Tahoua prompted the electoral commission to question if the process of registration for the electoral list would be able to continue.

In September, opposition groups protested to assert their rejection of the electoral commission, the electoral code, and the process of renewing the electoral list, and at year’s end were indicating they would boycott the polls.

Niger has experienced a number of military coups, the most recent in 2010, and the influence of the military still looms over the political sphere. The government claimed to have foiled another coup attempt in 2015, though it did not produce evidence. In December 2018, multiple military officers were arrested; though no formal charges have been issued, the timing and circumstances of the arrests appear similar to those of the alleged foiled coup attempt in 2015.

The law provides for equal opportunity for all Nigeriens to seek political office and participate in political processes. However, in practice women have been underrepresented both in elected and cabinet positions. A parity law calls for women to hold 10 percent of parliamentary seats and 25 percent of cabinet positions. While the law has improved women’s representation, the quota has not been respected, nor does it guarantee that women participate equally once elected or appointed to cabinet positions.

While two ethnic groups, Hausa and Zarma (or Djerma), have dominated many government positions, ethnic minorities are increasingly visible in politics, particularly Tuareg and Arabs.

Elected representatives were duly installed into office following the 2016 polls. However, the harassment of the opposition during the 2016 presidential and legislative election campaigns, as well as irregularities in the elections themselves, damage the government’s legitimacy.

There are a number of anticorruption authorities and programs. The High Authority for Combating Corruption and Related Crimes (HALCIA) is the official anticorruption body. The government operates an anticorruption hotline, and has established a program aiming to end corruption in the judiciary. The HALCIA is active in tracking cases of corruption and informing the public about its ongoing investigations. However, the government often has refused to carry through HALCIA’s recommendations or to pursue in court cases of corruption that the High Authority identified. No one in government has been held accountable for the so-called Uraniumgate scandal that emerged in 2017, which involved reports that a high-ranking official had in 2011 illegally certified a $320 million uranium transaction, and that the national treasury never received the money. Corruption is thought to be particularly high in the country’s taxation agencies. Bribes are sometimes required to gain access to public services.

Over the last few years, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has found increasing evidence of relationships between traffickers and politicians. In March 2019, an adviser to the president of National Assembly was arrested in Guinea-Bissau transporting 800 kilograms (1,800 pounds) of cocaine, though there is no proof of involvement by the National Assembly president himself in the trafficking.

Implementation and enforcement of the 2011 Charter on Access to Public Information and Administrative Documents has been uneven. Government information related to the mining, uranium, and oil sectors, and state-operated companies, is often not disclosed.

In January 2019, the government announced that it would take steps to resume its participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). In 2017, Niger, a global leader in uranium production, withdrew from EITI after the organization suspended the country; EITI cited its failure to meet standards for transparent licensing allocation and contract disclosure, lack of a comprehensive public license register, and other concerns.

CIVIL LIBERTIES: 29 / 60 (−1)

In 2010, Niger adopted a press law that eliminated prison terms for media offenses and reduced the threat of libel cases. However, journalists continue to face difficulties, including occasional police violence while covering protests, and detention or prosecution in response to critical or controversial reporting. In April 2018, Baba Alpha, a journalist with Bonferey TV, was expelled to Mali after spending a year in prison after being convicted of using forged identity documents, with which authorities said he had been able to acquire Nigerien citizenship. Alpha had long been a government critic, and rights groups expressed concern about his conviction and expulsion to Mali, a country in which he had never lived. Various media outlets were also closed in 2018 for failure to pay taxes.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, but there are some constraints on religious expression and worship in practice. In June 2019, citing security concerns, the government adopted a new law that imposed greater control over religious activities, including building worship places, preaching, and religious education. Protests erupted in Maradi after an influential imam was arrested for criticizing the law, and during the protests, a group of rioters burnt down a church. Furthermore, the rise of jihadists groups has increased the threat of violence against Christians. In May 2019, jihadists attacked a church in Tillabéri near the border with Burkina Faso, injuring a priest.

Score Change: The score declined from 3 to 2 due to attacks against Christian places of worship during the year.

Academic freedom is generally upheld, but insecurity and heavy-handed responses to campus protests can impede academic freedom. In April 2019, gunmen attacked a team of researchers in Tillabéri Region and stole their vehicle. In April 2018, police responded violently to a student protest at the University of Niamey over the expulsion of five students who had allegedly assaulted a faculty member. Dozens of students were injured and university campuses were temporarily closed. In December 2018 a professor at the University of Niamey was arrested for a Facebook comment in which he questioned the circumstances surrounding the death of a cadet officer, and was detained until March 2019.

Freedom of expression is generally upheld in Niger. However, the government has shown some intolerance of criticism, and has prosecuted people over remarks posted to social media platforms. In October 2019, for example, a government-employed physician was terminated after she criticized inequality in access to cancer treatment.

Freedom of assembly is constitutionally guaranteed, but authorities do not always respect this right in practice, and police have at times used force to break up demonstrations. In 2017, the government announced the prohibition of public protests on “business days.” Citing this law, in May 2019, authorities prohibited protests associated with a planned “citizen action day” civil society groups had organized to protest electricity and water cuts. An activist arrested in Zinder in connection with participation in the 2018 protests against the Finance Law was released in November 2019 after spending 19 months in prison on charges including “participation in an insurrectional movement” and “conspiracy against state security.”

In 2018, authorities refused to authorize several public protests, most of which were organized in opposition to the Finance Law, which raised taxes on housing and electricity, or against the presence of foreign military forces in the country. In March 2018, over two dozen activists were arrested on charges of participation in one such protest that went ahead without authorization. Authorities forcibly dispersed the gathering, and many of those arrested spent months in prison.

The government occasionally restricts the operations of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and a lack of security in certain regions also impedes their functioning. In April 2019, assailants attacked the office of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Diffa, burning several vehicles and the entire office building. In May, jihadists stole MSF vehicles, one of which was used in an attack against the army later that month. Due to the insecurity, some NGOs suspended their activities, and in May and October, the government temporarily imposed a military escort requirement for humanitarian organizations working in certain conflict areas, further restricting their work.

Earlier, in October 2018, authorities expelled a doctor from MSF for announcing what they alleged was a “false” death toll from malaria.

While the constitution and other laws guarantee workers the right to join unions and bargain for wages, a large portion of the workforce is employed informally and lacks access to formal union representation. The legal definition of “essential” workers not permitted to strike is broad, and the can invoke mandatory arbitration processes to settle strikes.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and courts have shown some level of independence, though the judicial system is subject to executive interference. Recent rulings against opposition leaders and civil society activists have decreased trust in the judiciary.

Arbitrary arrests and imprisonments are frequent. Many people accused of crimes are held in pretrial detention for extended periods of time, sometimes in the same population as people convicted of crimes. In 2018, several military officers accused of plotting a coup against Issoufou’s regime in late 2015 received between 5- and 15-year prison sentences, but only after they had spent over two years in pretrial detention.

States of emergency declared in several regions allow the army to engage in mass arrests and detain those suspected of links with terrorist organizations.

The security situation continued to deteriorate in many parts of the country in 2019. Jihadists have intensified assaults on military barracks, resulting in substantial losses for the Nigerien army. In December 2019, 71 soldiers were killed in a jihadist attack against a military outpost in Inates. Also in 2019, violent criminal groups from Nigeria, where thousands have fled to Niger due to violent raids on villages, kidnappings, sexual violence, and killings, have crossed over to the southern region of Maradi, near the Nigerian border, and committed similar attacks.

A reliance on nonstate armed groups to conduct counterterrorism operations has inflamed intercommunal tensions near the Niger-Mali border, leading to instances of violence. Furthermore, increased attacks by jihadist groups on the Burkina Faso border have prompted concerns about the potential for a new jihadist hotspot in that area. The government has extended states of emergency in the regions of Diffa, Tillabéri, and Tahoua several times in response to ongoing attacks.

The rights of ethnic minority groups are protected by law. While two ethnic groups, Hausa and Zarma (or Djerma), have dominated economic-leadership positions, Tuareg and Arabs are increasingly represented. Same-sex sexual activity is not illegal in Niger, but same-sex relationships are highly stigmatized, and there is no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Although the 2010 constitution prohibits gender discrimination, women suffer widespread discrimination in practice. The application of the law by customary courts often discriminates against women.

Niger has made efforts to welcome Malian and Nigerian refugees and other forcibly displaced populations.

The constitution guarantees freedom of movement, but in practice free movement is hampered by militant activity and bribery by security officials who guard checkpoints.

A number of complications undermine legal guarantees of the right to own property. Few people hold formal ownership documents for their land, though customary law provides some protection. However, the enforcement of both state and customary law often gives way to tensions and confusion. Women have less access to land ownership than men due to inheritance practices and inferior status in property disputes.

Family law gives women inferior status in divorce proceedings. Female genital mutilation was criminalized in 2003 and has declined, but it continues among a small percentage of the population. Penalties for rape are heavy, but societal attitudes and victims’ fears of retribution discourage reporting, and when rape is reported it is often poorly investigated. Domestic violence is not explicitly criminalized, though women may lodge criminal allegations of battery against partners. Some cases have resulted in convictions, but reporting is similarly discouraged in practice.

Although slavery was criminalized in 2003 and banned in the 2010 constitution, it remains a problem in Niger. Estimates of the number of enslaved people vary widely, but is generally counted in the tens of thousands. Niger remains a source, transit point, and destination for human trafficking.