How did Mahamadou Issoufou’s inauguration restore civilian rule in Niger?

Mahamadou Issoufou’s inauguration on April 7, 2011, restored civilian rule to Niger by marking the formal end of the military junta that had seized power in February 2010.12

Following the 2010 coup that deposed President Mamadou Tandja, a military junta known as the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy took control with the stated intent to restore democracy. The junta oversaw the drafting of a new constitution and organized presidential and legislative elections in early 2011. Mahamadou Issoufou, a longtime opposition leader and head of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism–Tarayya (PNDS), emerged victorious in a runoff election held on March 12, 2011. His subsequent inauguration transitioned the country back to a democratically elected civilian government and led to the resumption of foreign aid that had been suspended following the coup.12