The elections were boycotted by most opposition parties, and saw Tandja's National Movement for the Society of Development (MNSD) win a landslide victory.

[2] However, the Electoral Commission announced in June that the parliamentary elections would be moved to 20 August, two weeks after the controversial referendum on a new constitution that allowed Tandja to remain in office until 2012.

In May 2009, after Tandja informed the National Assembly of his plans to call a referendum on the matter, 23 deputies asked the Constitutional Court to rule on whether he could do so.

[15] Despite the opposition boycott and warnings from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the elections were held as planned on 20 October.

ECOWAS promptly suspended Niger "until constitutional legality is reinstated", stating that it would "not recognize the outcome" of the elections.

[18] According to official results announced by CENI President Moumouni Hamidou on 24 October the governing MNSD won the elections by taking 76 of 113 seats in the National Assembly.