Niger parliament vote to harden Tandja's power

By Abdoulaye Massalatchi

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's President Mamadou Tandja will bid to further strengthen his grip on the uranium-exporting West African country when it holds legislative elections on Tuesday.

The vote, which many opposition politicians want the electorate to boycott, is expected to give Tandja, who has ruled since 1999, even greater control of Niger.

Tandja's ruling party has said it hopes the vote helps to consolidate presidential power which is needed to oversee multibillion-dollar investment and infrastructure projects which could transform the desert state's economy.

French state-owned energy firm Areva, which has been digging uranium in Niger for decades, is spending 1.2 billion euros on a new mine, and China National Petroleum Corp signed a $5 billion deal there last June.

"Tandja must leave power on December 22," said Bazoum Mohamed, spokesman for opposition party the CFDR, referring to the date Tandja's second and final term would have expired had August's referendum not been held.

"These elections are not based on the constitution of 1999, and we reiterate our appeal to our supporters and the people of Niger as a whole for a massive boycott," he said.

A referendum in August, denounced by the international community, eliminated many of the remaining checks on Tandja's authority, abolished term limits, and gave him an extra three years in power without facing an election.

The country's constitutional court declared that vote illegal, to which Tandja responded by abolishing the court and replacing its members with his own appointees.