Leader accused of dictatorship

Niamey - Opponents of Niger's President Mamadou Tandja on Wednesday accused him of attempting to run a dictatorship after he dissolved parliament amid a bid to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third term.

Tandja dissolved parliament on Tuesday after the constitutional court rebuffed him.

The president said he wanted to hold a referendum on changing the law that prevents a president from serving more than two terms because the people want him to stay on, but the constitutional court ruled such a move illegal.

"Our man is corrupted by power," Human rights campaigner Abdoul Kamara Dine told the BBC. "He wants to create a kind of kingdom, which can't be - Niger is a republic."

Tandja, 70, is due to step down later this year after 10 years in office.

However, he is now expected to press forward with his attempt to cling onto power in the uranium-rich West African nation.

- SAPA