Niger, the "D" word and the SABC

Nigeriens (that's natives of Niger not Nigeria!) will go to the polls on 20 August to elect a new parliament. Democracy it would seem, at least from the outside, is alive and well. Well, not quite. The president of the country, a colourful chap named Tandja, came to power in 1999 and like many of his esteemed African predecessors has decided that his time in office was well spent and should continue...for the benefit of the people of course. In early August Tandja held a constitutional referendum on whether or not he could stand for a third term. This was after the Constitutional Court had ruled any referendum illegal. Tandja's response was to dissolve the court and replace it with loyalists. The outcry in the country was deafening (except to us here in SA, Niger doesn't feature high on the SABC's priorities) and protests and strike action were held regularly in the capital. Yet the sense we got here at Mecasr was that the majority of the locals cared more about not getting sunburnt than Tandja's attempts to hold on to the only air conditioned building in Niamey (that being the presidential palace). The referendum was held and an overwhelming number of Nigeriens voted YES. In the capital over 85% of the people who actually bothered to turn up, voted in favour of the change. The new Constitutional Court backed the referendum and Tandja can now, legally (not that it actually matters to him), stand in elections at the end of the year. As a supporter of democracy, well, this all smacks of a farce really, but who are we to judge? Zimbabweans voted Bob back into power and Mauritanians recently elected a coup leader as president! Africa's strong men trump Western democracy again it would seem and the question now is, is it time for the West to back off, to let Africa develop its own political systems? China has done it well, they send the workers and cash in, reap the benefits and leave. As for Niger, well, no one really cares anyway. By the way, where is Niger?