[FROM IRIN]

 NIGER: Wanke pledges November election

 Niger's new military leader, Major Daouda Mallam Wanke, has pledged to
 hold elections for a civilian government and a new president in November.

 Wanke who heads a new ruling body of army officers called the National
 Reconciliation Council (NRC), made the announcement in a radio and
 television broadcast on Monday in which he said a new president would be
 sworn in after the elections on 31 December.

 In the broadcast, Wanke, again insisted that the death of his predecessor
 Ibrahim Bare Mainassara had been "accidental". Wanke seized power after
 Mainassara was gunned down on 9 April by members of a presidential guard
 unit which Wanke himself commanded.

 Wanke said the nine-month transition to civilian rule in a process agreed
 in consultation with the country's political parties would also be used to
 carry through a 1996 economic and financial reform programme.

 France, the impoverished country's main aid donor, has suspended
 assistance since the coup. The European Union has said it was "reviewing"
 its aid programme and Japan said it too would "reconsider" its assistance
 if democracy was not restored quickly in Niger.

 At the weekend, Wanke appointed a 20-member transitional cabinet with most
 portfolios going to civilians, two of them women. Only two army officers
 were appointed as the ministers of defence and interior.

 Wanke in French radio interview

 In an interview with Radio France Internationale monitored by the BBC on
 Tuesday, Wanke said: "As you know, President Bare died at a time when
 Niger is passing through difficult times. It has economic and financial as
 well as political and social difficulties. Following consultations with
 the political parties and the civil society, the National Armed Forces
 have decided to stop this drift and assume their responsibility in order
 to put the country back on course."

 Asked to show "proof" that he would step down after nine months, he said:
 "I think that there is nobody in Niger who doubts our sincerity. If God
 permits, the NRC will do everything, and I repeat this, so that on 1
 January 2000 the newly and democratically elected authorities can be
 installed."

 He hoped the international community would "judge us through what we will
 be doing".



ABIDJAN, 19 April (IRIN) - Niger's new military leader, Major Daouda
Mallam Wanke, has named a new cabinet. The list was released at the
weekend and broadcast by the official 'Voix du Sahel' radio station:


Prime Minister: Ibrahim Assan Mayaki
Minister of National Defence: Colonel Moussa Moumouni Djermakoye
Minister of the Interior and Territorial Development: Lt-Col Boureima
Moumouni
Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry: Tassiou Aminou
Minister of National Education: Baringaye Ahmed Akilou
Minister of Trade and Industry: Seyni Omar
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation: Mrs Aichatou Mindaoudou
Minister of Higher Education, Research and Technology: Ibrahim Konate
Minister of Finance and Economic Reforms: Ide Niandou
Minister of Water Resources and Environment: Ali Seyni Gado
Minister of Communication, Culture, Youth and Sports, and Government
Spokesman:
 Mahamadou Danda
Minister of Public Health: Sani Mamane
Minister of Tourism and Crafts: Rissa ag Boula
Minister of Social Development, Population, Women's Promotion and the
Protection of Children:
 Aissatou Foumakoye
Minister of Mines and Energy: Yahaya Bare
Minister of Equipment and Transport: Ousmane Ahmed Abani
Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals: Lawali Mahamane Danda
Minister of Civil Service, Labour and Employment: Ousmane Mahamane
Minister Delegate to the Minister of Finance in Charge of the Budget:
 Sidibe Seydou
Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in Charge of Planning: Adamou
Salaou


Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
1999