| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Barlamane / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Al Jamiya-Al-Wataniya / National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Majlis Al-Chouyoukh / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
19 November 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly
which had been dissolved in August 2005 following a coup d'état. |
On 19 November 2006
parliamentary elections were held for all 95 seats in the enlarged National Assembly. They were the first elections since the military coup that ousted President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya on 3 August 2005.
Parliament had been dissolved immediately after the coup. The Military Council for Justice and Democracy
headed by Colonel Ely Ould Mohammed Vall
had promised that parliamentary elections would take place within two years and that no members of the Military Council would be candidates. A referendum on 25 June 2006 approved amendments to the 1991 Constitution by 96 per cent of votes
paving the way for the re-establishment of parliament.
In the elections held in October 2001
the Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS) of President Ould Taya won 64 of the then 81 seats in the National Assembly. Its allies won another six seats
while four opposition parties won between one and four seats each.
After the coup
the former ruling party changed its name from the PRDS to the Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR).
In June 2006
eleven former opposition parties formed an electoral coalition called the Forces of Change for Democracy (CFCD
see note)
which pledged to promote national unity and further develop the country. Some independent candidates
reportedly backed by banned Islamist parties
were allied to the CFCD. The CFCD leader
Mr. Ahmed Ould Daddah
called for a process of national reconciliation that would take the rights of oppressed people into account.
In the 2006 elections
candidates were allowed to run as independents for the first time. In addition to 25 political parties
600 independent candidates contested the elections. Many independent candidates were former members of the ruling party and allied themselves to an unofficial political group called the National Rally of Independents (RNI). The RNI was coordinated by Mr. Lemrabott Sidi Mahmoud Ould Cheikh Ahmed
a former Interior Minister under President Ould Taya.
Around 3.1 million people were estimated to be eligible to vote
although just over one million were recorded on the electoral register. Over 73 per cent of the registered voters turned out for the polls on 19 November. Only 43 candidates were elected at the first round. Turnout for the second round
held on 3 December
was 69 per cent. The European Union observer mission said that the elections were generally free and transparent.
The CFCD coalition won a total of 41 seats
with the support of two independents. Of the 41 independent candidates who won seats
39 were reportedly associated with the RNI
which expressed its intention to form a parliamentary party after the senatorial elections in January 2007. The PRDR became the third-largest party in the National Assembly
winning seven seats.
The National Assembly is expected to convene on 14 May 2007
at the same time as the Senate
whose members were indirectly elected in January and February 2007.
In the presidential elections held in March 2007
economist and former minister Mr. Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was elected with 52.85 percent of the votes.
Note:
The CFCD was composed of the following political parties:
Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)
Union of Forces of Progress (UFP)
People's Progressive Alliance (APP)
Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)
Democratic Renovation Party (RD)
Popular Front Party (FP)
Social-Democratic Unionist Party (PUDS)
Centrist reformers
Al-Sawab Party
RPM Temam (Rally for Mauritania)
Movement for Direct Democrac |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 19 November 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'073'287
788'029 (73.42%)
122'716
665'313 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Round no 2 | 3 December 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
632'956
439'835 (69.49%)
27'289
412'546 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Total seats |
|
|
|
| Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD) |
12
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Progressive Alliance (APP) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Union of Forces of Progress (UFP) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Rally for Democracy and Unity (RDU) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Renovation Party (RD) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Popular Front Party (FP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Social-Democratic Unionist Party (PUDS) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| National Rally for Democracy
Liberty and Equality (RNLDE) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Union of the Democratic Center (UCD) |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| Alternative |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| HATEM-APP |
0
|
|
|
|
|
| RFD-UFP |
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Total seats |
|
|
|
| Independents |
31
|
41 |
|
|
|
| Union of Forces of Progress (UFP) |
5
|
8 |
|
|
|
| Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD) |
3
|
15 |
|
|
|
| Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR) |
3
|
7 |
|
|
|
| Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP) |
2
|
3 |
|
|
|
| HATEM-APP |
2
|
2 |
|
|
|
| RFD-UFP |
2
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Union of the Democratic Center (UCD) |
1
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Alternative |
1
|
1 |
|
|
|
| People's Progressive Alliance (APP) |
1
|
5 |
|
|
|
| Rally for Democracy and Unity (RDU) |
1
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Democratic Renovation Party (RD) |
0
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM) |
0
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Popular Front Party (FP) |
0
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Social-Democratic Unionist Party (PUDS) |
0
|
1 |
|
|
|
| National Rally for Democracy
Liberty and Equality (RNLDE) |
0
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
78
17
17.89%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.mauritania.mr/
- National Assembly (01.01.2008) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
