Elections in Mauritania

Mauritania

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Mauritania

Constitution President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf Parliament Senate National Assembly Elections: Presidential: 2007, 2009 Senate: 2007 Parliamentary: 2006, 2012 Political parties Regions Departments Communes Foreign relations

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Prior to the coup d'état of August 2005, Mauritania was a one party dominant state with the Democratic and Social Republican Party in power. Opposition parties were allowed, but widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power.

Mauritania elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. Prior to 2006, the president was elected for a six year term by the people, with no term limits; following the constitutional referendum of June 2006, presidential terms are now five years, with a two-term limit and a maximum age limit of 75. The Parliament (Barlamane/Parlement) has two chambers. The National Assembly (Al Jamiya al-Wataniyah/Assemblée Nationale) has 81 members, elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies. The Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh/Sénat) has 56 members, 53 members elected for a six year term by municipal councillors with one third renewed every two years and 3 members elected by Mauritanians abroad.

Latest elections

2009 Presidential election

Main article: Mauritanian presidential election, 2009

 Summary of the 18 July 2009 Mauritanian presidential election results

Candidates – Parties	Votes	%
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz – Union for the Republic	409,100	52.58
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir – Popular Alliance for Progress/National Front for the Defense of Democracy	126,782	16.29
Ahmed Ould Daddah – Rally of Democratic Forces	106,263	13.66
Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour – National Rally for Reform and Development	37,059	4.76
Ibrahima Moctar Sarr – Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal	35,709	4.59
Ely Ould Mohamed Vall	29,681	3.81
Kane Hamidou Baba	11,568	1.49
Saleh Ould Hanenna – Mauritanian Party of Union and Change	10,219	1.31
Hamada Ould Meimou	9,936	1.28
Sghair Ould M'Bareck	1,788	0.23
Total votes	778,105	100.00
Sources: click4mauritania.com

2007 Presidential election

Main article: Mauritanian presidential election, 2007

 Summary of the 11 March and 25 March 2007 Mauritanian presidential election results

Candidates – Parties	1st round		2nd round
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi	183,726	24.80	373,520	52.85
Ahmed Ould Daddah – Rally of Democratic Forces	153,252	20.69	333,185	47.15
Zeine Ould Zeidane	113,182	15.28
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir – Popular Alliance for Progress	72,493	9.79
Ibrahima Moctar Sarr	58,878	7.95
Saleh Ould Hanenna – Mauritanian Party of Union and Change	56,700	7.65
Mohamed Ould Maouloud – Union of the Forces of Progress	30,254	4.08
Dahane Ould Ahmed Mahmoud	15,326	2.07
Mohamed Ould Cheikhna	14,200	1.92
Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla	12,813	1.73
Ethmane Ould Cheikh Ebi El Maali	10,868	1.47
Ba Mamadou Alassane – Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice	4,076	0.55
Mohamed Ahmed Ould Baba Ahmed Ould Salihi	2,779	0.38
Moulaye El Hacen Ould Jeid – Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concord	2,535	0.34
Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine	2,111	0.28
Rajel dit Rachid Moustapha – Mauritanian Party for Renewal	1,977	0.27
Sidi Ould Isselmou Ould Mohamed Ahid	1,784	0.24
Isselmou Ould El Moustapha – Party of Democratic Convergence	1,779	0.24
Mohamed Ould Mohamed El Moctar Ould Tomi	1,465	0.20
Mohamed Ould Ghoulam Ould Sidaty	652	0.09
Total valid votes	740,850	100.0	706,705	100.00
Total valid poll(turnout 70.2 %/67.4 )	794,979		764,045
Sources: African Elections, African Press Agency

2006 Parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held on November 19, 2006.

Main article: Mauritanian parliamentary election, 2006

 Summary of the 19 November and 3 December 2006 Mauritanian parliamentary election results

Parties		Votes	%	Seats 1st round	Seats 2nd round	Total seats
Al-Mithaq (moderate Islamist independents)				10	31	41
RFD-UFP	Rally of Democratic Forces (Regroupement des Forces Démocratiques)			12	3	15
	Union of Forces of Progress (Union des Forces du Progrès)			3	5	8
	RFD-UFP			0	2	2
Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (Parti Républicain Démocratique et Renouvellement)				4	3	7
APP-HATEM	People's Progressive Alliance (Alliance populaire progressiste)			4	1	5
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (Parti mauritanien de l'union et du changement-HATEM)			2	0	2
	APP-HATEM			0	2	2
Rally for Democracy and Unity (Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et l'Unité)				2	1	3
Union for Democracy and Progress (Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès)				1	2	3
Democratic Renovation (Rénovation Démocratique)				2	0	2
People's Front (Front populaire)				1	0	1
Social-Democratic Unionist Party (Parti unioniste démocratique et socialiste)				1	0	1
National Rally for Democracy, Liberty and Equality (Rassemblement national pour la liberté, la démocratie et l'égalité)				1	0	1
Union of the Democratic Center (Union du centre démocratique)				0	1	1
Alternative (Alternative)				0	1	1
Total				43	52	95
Source: IPU

2007 Senate election

 Summary of the 21 January and 4 February 2007 Senate of Mauritania election results

Parties	1st round			2nd round			Total
	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
Al-Mithaq (moderate Islamist independents)	2,258	63.14	23	1,081	69.79	11	34
Rally of Democratic Forces (Regroupement des Forces Démocratiques) and allies	365	10.21	5	98	6.33	1	6
Rally of Democratic Forces–Union of Forces of Progress (RFD-UFP)				76	4.91	1	1
Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (Parti Républicain Démocratique et Renouvellement)	231	6.46	3				3
Union of Forces of Progress (Union des Forces du Progrès)	129	3.61	1	29	1.87	0	1
Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change (Coalition des Forces de Changements)	83	2.32	3				3
Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (Parti mauritanien de l'union et du changement/HATEM) and allies	31	0.87	1	103	6.65	2	3
Union for Democracy and Progress (Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès) and allies	28	0.78	1				1
People's Progressive Alliance (Alliance populaire progressiste) and allies	12	0.34	1				1
representatives of the diaspora							3
Total	3,137	100.0	38	1,387	100.0	15	56

See also

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

External links

• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• African Elections Database