Ousmane received second place, with 19.75% of the vote, in the July 7–8, 1996 presidential election, which was won by Maïnassara; on the second day of polling he was again placed under house arrest and was freed after two weeks. Following a pro-democracy demonstration on January 11, 1997, Ousmane was arrested along with Tandja and Issoufou and held until January 23.