Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara

Seizure of power

Parliamentary elections in January 1995 resulted in cohabitation between President Mahamane Ousmane and a parliament controlled by his opponents, led by Prime Minister Hama Amadou.

Rivalry between Ousmane and Amadou effectively paralyzed the government, and Maïnassara seized power on 27 January 1996,

Rule Under Maïnassara's rule, a new constitution was approved by referendum in May 1996, and a presidential election was held on 7–8 July 1996. Maïnassara took about 52% of the vote, in an election widely viewed as fraudulent. On the second day of polling, he had the electoral commission dissolved and replaced it with another electoral commission; on the same day, he also had the four opposition candidates placed under house arrest, which lasted for two weeks. Maïnassara was sworn in on 7 August.

Local elections were held in February 1999, and in early April the Supreme Court released results which showed the opposition winning more seats than Maïnassara's supporters; the Court also canceled the results in many areas and ordered elections there to be held again. The opposition called for protests against the cancellation of results on 8 April. The circumstances of the killing were not clear; Coup leader Daouda Malam Wanké succeeded him as head of state and initiated a political transition that ended with elections late in the year. The RDP-Jama'a has demanded an international inquiry into his death in the years since. His widow, Clémence Aïssa Baré, and their children have campaigned for the prosecution of his killers in Niger and before the ECOWAS Court for more than 20 years.