VOA:
A consultative council appointed by Niger’s military rulers says civilian government should be re-established by March of next year.
After more than one week of debate, Niger’s 131-member Consultative Council called for the return of democratic rule by March 1, 2011.
Council President Marou Amadou now passes on that proposal to the military’s ruling Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, which toppled President Mamadou Tandja in a February coup.
Military rulers are likely to accept that proposal since they are represented on the consultative council and have already pledged to restore civilian rule within a year.
The council made no formal recommendation on the dates of presidential and parliamentary elections, but Amadou says a referendum on a new constitution should come sometime in October.
[...]
Regional diplomats believe [military ruler Major Salou Djibo] is serious about returning to democracy, in part, because many of the soldiers behind this coup were also involved in a 1999 coup that organized elections won by former President Tandja [...] Niger has past experience with this process following the 1999 coup that also restored civilian rule within one year.
I am not endorsing the coup, but it seems the transition might go smoothly.
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