A referendum on the new

constitution of France The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic , and it replaced the Constitution of the Fourth Republic of 1946 with the exception of the preamble per a 1971 d ...

was held in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

on 28 September 1958 as part of a wider referendum held across the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was ''de jure'' the end of the "indigenous" () status of Frenc ...

. The new constitution would see the country become part of the new

French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...

if accepted, or result in independence if rejected. It was approved by 78% of voters.Frankreich, 28. September 1958 : Verfassung
Direct Democracy The vote was marred by widespread irregularities and manipulation by the colonial administration to counter

Djibo Bakary Djibo Bakary (1922 – 16 April 1998) was a socialist politician and an important figure in the History of Niger, independence movement of Niger. Bakary was the first Nigerien to hold local executive power since the beginning of French colonial ...

's virulent criticism of the referendum. As Bakary denounced

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

's "economic blackmail" towards the colonies and demanded immediate independence for Niger during the congress of the African Regroupment Party, he managed to rally a majority of the congress delegates behind his cause. This led French and pro-French figureheads including

Jacques Foccart Jacques Foccart (31 August 1913 – 19 March 1997) was a French businessman and politician, best known as a chief adviser to French presidents on African affairs. He also co-founded in 1959 with Charles Pasqua the Gaullist Service d'Action Civiq ...

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under ...

and

Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was an Ivorian politician and physician who served as the first List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, pr ...

to decide that Bakary should be brought down. The colonial administrator Louis Rollet (seen as too conciliatory) was replaced by , who organized a massive campaign in favor of the "yes" vote. Moreover, Colombani worked with the far-right general

Raoul Salan Raoul Albin Louis Salan (; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general and the founder of the Organisation armée secrète, a clandestine terrorist organisation that sought to maintain French Algeria by preventing Algerian indepen ...

to bring death squads into villages seen as strongholds of Bakary's

Sawaba The Union of Popular Forces for Democracy and Progress–Sawaba (, UDFP–Sawaba) is a political party in Niger, founded as the Nigerien Democratic Union (''Union Démocratique Nigérienne'', UDN) in 1954. The original party, founded by Nigerien ...

and to terrorize the villagers into submission. This led to a victory for the "yes" camp in the referendum. The French authorities would go on to push Bakary fully out of power, replace him with his cousin

Hamani Diori Hamani Diori (6 June 1916 – 23 April 1989) was the first President of the Republic of Niger. He was appointed to that office in 1960, when Niger gained independence from France. Although corruption was a common feature of his administration, ...

and organize a new election for the Territorial Assembly of Niger - again marked by a campaign of repression against opponents - to consolidate the latter's power.

Results

References

{{Nigerien elections

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

1958 French Union constitutional referendums

Referendums in Niger Constitutional referendums in Niger