December 22, 1999
Web posted at: 10:50 AM EST (1550 GMT)

NIAMEY, Niger (Reuters) -- Niger's newly elected civilian president, Tandja Mamadou, took his oath of office on Wednesday, marking the end of military rule in the West African nation ahead of a year-end deadline.

Tandja, a retired army colonel and candidate of the country's former single party, succeeded assassinated former military ruler Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, who won the disputed 1996 presidential election but was shot dead by soldiers in April.

Tandja, who won the presidency in a November multi-party election, took his oath of office on the Moslem holy book, the Koran, before the state court in the capital Niamey.

"I solemnly swear on the holy book to respect and to ensure respect for the constitution that the people of Niger have freely given themselves," he said.

He also pledged to respect human rights and basic freedoms. Wednesday was declared a public holiday in Niger to mark the transition.

Military ruler Daouda Malam Wanke, who took power in April, Burkina Faso's president, Blaise Compaore, and the vice-presidents of Nigeria and Liberia attended the ceremony.

Wanke had initially promised to restore civilian rule in the mainly Moslem, landlocked and impoverished nation by December 31. After the election, he brought the date forward to December 22.

Niger was among many African countries that opted for multi-party politics in the 1990s after the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

It elected Mahamane Ousmane as president in 1993 but that experiment in democracy ended in chaos when a dispute between the president and the prime minister, who was from an opposition party, paralyzed government.

Mainassara, then army chief, staged a coup in 1996 saying that he wanted to end the deadlock. He went on to organize and win a disputed presidential election before being assassinated.

Tandja has won a five-year term. He stepped down from the leadership of his National Movement for Development Society (MNSD) on Monday, as required by the constitution.

The MNSD and its allies won a majority of seats in a parliamentary election also held in November. Ousmane and his supporters are among those allies.

Wanke was commander of the presidential guard, when he and the army toppled Mainassara in April.

The Organization of African Unity has since said that it will no longer deal with any Africa leader who comes to power by force of arms.