Abuja — The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended the Republic of Niger from the regional body for violating the caution not to conduct elections in the politically troubled country yesterday.

In a statement yesterday signed by the ECOWAS chairman and Nigeria's President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the regional body described as unfortunate the recalcitrant attitude of the country's president, Alhaji Mahmud Tandja,who, in spite of appeal and caution, went ahead to conduct general elections in order for him to continue in office through unconstitutional means.

It said Niger Republic remains suspended from the regional body until it reverts to constitutional order.

Yar'Adua said he regretted the failure of the authorities in the Republic of Niger to heed the decision of the Extraordinary Summit held in Abuja on October 17, 2009 and postpone the legislative elections to allow for more dialogue.

"The holding of the elections today (yesterday) in total disregard of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments is a clear move by the authorities in Niger to further entrench the constitutional illegality currently prevailing in the country. It also signifies a rejection of the appeal for dialogue and consensus to resolve the deepening constitutional crisis in the country."

"As it remains committed to consolidating the culture of democracy, respect for constitutional legality and the rule of law that it has championed for the past two decades, ECOWAS will not recognize the outcome of today's elections in Niger," he said.

He further asserted that the violation of the 1999 Constitution by the authorities in Niger, the intolerance of divergent opinions, and the muzzling of the opposition political parties are serious breaches of the ECOWAS Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance and constitute sufficient grounds for the imposition of sanctions on Niger in accordance with Article 45 of the said Protocol.

President Yar'Adua added that in the effort to continue to constructively engage the principal stakeholders in the Nigerien polity towards this end, ECOWAS would convene a consultative meeting of the major Nigerien political actors in Abuja on October 30, 2009 under the chairmanship of the ECOWAS Mediator for the Republic of Niger, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd.)

It could be recalled that ECOWAS had,, last week in Abuja, convened a special mediation meeting to persuade Tandja to leave office after his two terms of five years which ends in December 2009.

The regional body had warned of suspending the tiny nation from the body if Tandja went ahead to conduct a referendum and elections geared to wards his continuation in office. ECOWAS equally dispatched a two-man team of special mediators, made up of former Nigeria's head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Liberian president, Eileen Johnson Sirleaf, which went to Niger on Sunday but were rebuffed. by Tandja.

Meanwhile, Niger Republic yesterday went to polls to conduct elections into its national assembly. A total of 113 lawmakers or deputies are expected to be elected out of 760 candidates.

The polls are shrouded in controversy with the members of the coalition of opposition parties across the country boycotting.

The opposition parties are insisting that the West African country is still in the fifth republic while the government insists it is on the sixth.

The former National Assembly members were dissolved by President Mamadou Tandja on May 26 , 2009 who also conducted a nationwide constitutional referendum in Aug. 4 , 2009 which ended in his favour for another term of three years .

His current term expires in Dec. 2009 while Tuesday's parliamentary is the final requirement for the realisation of the sixth republic.