Fourth Republic
Maïnassara was assassinated in an April 1999 coup, and new elections were held in late 1999. The MNSD's presidential candidate, Tandja Mamadou, won the presidential election. In the parliamentary election, held in November, the MNSD again won the largest number of seats, and through an alliance with Ousmane's party, the Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama (CDS), it held a majority in the new parliament.
Amadou was again elected to the National Assembly in the 1999 parliamentary election as an MNSD candidate from Niamey, but left his seat to become Prime Minister on January 3, 2000. On this occasion he told the deputies of the National Assembly that Niger faced a "disastrous" financial situation and that "the coffers are absolutely empty", asking them to temporarily go without their salaries as deputies.
As President of Niger, Tandja had to give up his position as President of the MNSD. Hamidou Sékou acted as interim president of the party until Amadou, who was until that point the party's Secretary-General, was elected as President of the MNSD on December 21, 2001.
While Amadou was campaigning for the July 2004 municipal elections, the helicopter in which he was travelling reportedly crashed on July 14, 2004 at Magaria in eastern Niger. Amadou survived the crash. He refused to rely on UN's food aid in 2005, stating that the harvest was enough and that such aid was an insult to Niger's dignity.
Read more about this topic: Hama Amadou
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