Mauritanian parliamentary election, 2013

Last updated April 23, 2019

Parliamentary elections were held in Mauritania on 23 November. The opposition has vowed to boycott the election unless the president steps down beforehand.^[1] A total of 1,096 candidates have registered to compete for the leadership of 218 local councils across Mauritania, whilst 438 candidates are contesting for the 146 parliamentary seats. Some 1.2 million Mauritanians were eligible to vote in the election.^[2] The first round results yielded a landslide victory for the ruling UPR winning 56 seats and their 14 coalition partners winning 34 seats. The Islamist Tewassoul party won 12 seats. The remaining seats were contested in a runoff on 21 December 2013.^[3] The UPR won the majority with 75 seats in the Assembly.^[4]

Mauritania is a country in Northwest Africa. It is the eleventh largest sovereign state in Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest.

The Union for the Republic (UPR) is a political party in Mauritania. The party was formed in 2009 by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz after he resigned from the military to run for President of Mauritania. Aziz resigned as chairman of the party on 2 August 2009 after winning the presidential election, as the President of Mauritania cannot be a member of any party. The party also won 13 of the 17 seats up for re-election to the Mauritanian Senate in 2009, giving the UPR control of a total of 38 of the 53 Senate seats.

Islamism is a concept whose meaning has been debated in both public and academic contexts. The term can refer to diverse forms of social and political activism advocating that public and political life should be guided by Islamic principles or more specifically to movements which call for full implementation of sharia. It is commonly used interchangeably with the terms political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism. In academic usage, the term Islamism does not specify what vision of "Islamic order" or sharia are being advocated, or how their advocates intend to bring them about. In Western mass media it tends to refer to groups whose aim is to establish a sharia-based Islamic state, often with implication of violent tactics and human rights violations, and has acquired connotations of political extremism. In the Muslim world, the term has positive connotations among its proponents.

Background

The elections were originally set for 1 October 2011, then delayed several times to 16 October 2011, 31 March 2012, May 2012, October 2013 and November/December 2013, due to continuous disputes between the government and opposition parties.^[5]

Campaign

The two-week campaign period began on Friday 8 November. The beginning of the campaign was greeted with fireworks, car honking, and loud music in the streets, in the capital of Nouakchott.^[6]

Nouakchott is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. It is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania.

Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed Lemine called for Mauritanians to give the Union for the Republic a majority in parliament so that they could support the program of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.^[2] The UPR is also the only party fielding a contestant in every constituency.^[7] The UPR has also criticized Tewassoul for its links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and has called for the movement to dissociate itself from Islamists elsewhere.^[7]

Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed Lemine is a Mauritanian politician.

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is a Mauritanian politician who is currently the President of Mauritania, in office since 2009. A career soldier and high-ranking officer, he was a leading figure in the August 2005 coup that deposed President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, and in August 2008 he led another coup, which toppled President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Following the 2008 coup, Abdel Aziz became President of the High Council of State as part of what was described as a political transition leading to a new election. He resigned from that post in April 2009 in order to stand as a candidate in the July 2009 presidential election, which he won. He was sworn in on 5 August 2009.

Tewassoul has described its participation as a struggle against what it deems the dictatorship of President Mohamed Oul Abdel Aziz,^[7] and Party President Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour has called for a huge turnout by Tewassoul supporters.^[6]

Thousands of supporters of the COD marched in Nouakchott on 6 November to protest against the election.^[6]

Contestants

A total of 74 parties are taking part.^[7] Tewassoul is the only member of the 11 party opposition alliance known as the Coordination of the Democratic Opposition (COD) to be taking part.^[7] The COD's boycott has been criticised by the ruling UPR, with Ould Mohamed Lemine saying such action was unjustifiable "in view of the political and electoral reforms accomplished."^[6]

The main contestants are seen to be the UPR, Tewassoul, and the People's Progressive Alliance.^[7]

Results

Following the first round of voting, on 23 November, Tewassoul president Jemil Ould Mansour claimed at a party news conference that the party had found "serious irregularities" including ballot stuffing and voting being carried out after the count. Mansour claimed these irregularities could discredit the election, and stated that the party had sent a delegation to the electoral commission to complain. He did not say which parties he believed to have benefited from the alleged irregularities.^[8]

Party	National PR seats			Women's seats			Constituency seats						Total seats
	National PR seats			Women's seats			First round			Second round
	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
Union for the Republic	127,580	21.34	4	138,651	24.74	5	299,605	39.21	44	124,656	55.11	22	75
Tewassoul	81,744	13.68	3	88,014	15.70	3	102,404	13.4	6	31,103	13.75	4	16
People's Progressive Alliance	44,700	7.48	2	53,610	9.57	2	55,874	7.31	3	9,987	4.42	0	7
Burst of Youth for the Nation	25,706	4.3	1	34,850	6.22	1	54,857	7.18	2	12,934	5.72	0	4
El Wiam	22,888	3.83	1	32,142	5.74	1	59,847	7.83	6	11,369	5.03	2	10
Union for Democracy and Progress	20,470	3.42	1	25,539	4.56	1	25,828	3.38	4	8,458	3.74	0	6
APJD/MPR	15,577	2.61	1	18,029	3.22	1	13,068	1.71	2	–	–	–	4
El Karam	15,193	2.54	1	21,649	3.86	1	25,922	3.39	4	5,002	2.21	0	6
El Vadila	13,893	2.32	1	14,026	2.50	1	8,915	1.17	1	–	–	–	3
Party of Unity and Development	13,748	2.30	1	17,311	3.09	1	23,153	3.03	1	14,752	6.52	0	3
Party of Mauritanian Authenticity	11,072	1.85	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Socialist Democratic Unionist Party	9,551	1.60	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Ravah Party	8,378	1.40	1	9,091	1.62	1	4,752	0.62	1	–	–	–	3
Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal	8,367	1.40	1	14,170	2.53	1	5,082	0.67	1	–	–	–	3
Democratic Justice Party	8,286	1.39	0	8,691	1.55	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Sawab	7,180	1.20	0	7,699	1.37	0	6,648	0.87	0	–	–	–	0
Dignity and Action Party	6,385	1.07	0	5,464	0.97	0	3,645	0.48	1	–	–	–	1
National El Inma Party	6,073	1.02	0	4,302	0.77	0	1,964	0.26	0	–	–	–	0
Democratic Renovation	6,002	1.00	0	8,216	1.47	0	5,105	0.67	0	–	–	–	0
People's Rally Party	5,169	0.86	0	–	–	–	846	0.11	0	–	–	–	0
Popular Front	5,123	0.86	0	–	–	–	2,879	0.38	0	–	–	–	0
Democratic Social Union Party	5,108	0.85	0	6,398	1.14	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Partie Congre de Mauritanie	4,860	0.81	0	4,820	0.86	0	1,414	0.19	0	–	–	–	0
Democratic Socialist Party	4,819	0.81	0	–	–	–	62	0.01	0	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Hope Party	4,766	0.80	0	6,134	1.09	0	1,571	0.21	0	–	–	–	0
PMRC	4,615	0.77	0	4,196	0.75	0	1,261	0.17	0	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Party for Renewal	4,172	0.70	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
RNLDE Party	4,073	0.68	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Democratic Peace and Progress Party	4,059	0.68	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Shura Party for Development	4,000	0.67	0	–	–	–	821	0.11	0	–	–	–	0
Democratic People's Party	3,969	0.66	0	–	–	–	2,072	0.27	1	–	–	–	1
El Islah	3,885	0.66	0	3,853	0.69	0	2,663	0.35	1	–	–	–	1
Rally for Equality Party	3,703	0.62	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
People's Democratic Party	3,600	0.60	0	–	–	–	761	0.10	0	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Liberal Democratic Party	3,459	0.58	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Rally for Unity Party	3,385	0.57	0	2,856	0.51	0	2,629	0.34	0	–	–	–	0
National Agreement Party	3,296	0.55	0	–	–	–	464	0.06	0	–	–	–	0
Parti RibatDémocratique et Social	3,107	0.51	0	7,490	1.34	0	2,805	0.37	0	–	–	–	0
PMC and CPR Coalition	3,057	0.51	0	6,333	1.13	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
National Union for Democracy and Development	3,031	0.51	0	–	–	–	447	0.06	0	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian People's Movement Party	2,865	0.48	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Democratic Consultation Party	2,861	0.48	0	4,663	0.83	0	1,832	0.24	0	–	–	–	0
Dialogue and Democracy Party	2,789	0.47	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Equity and Defence of Right Party	2,781	0.47	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Union for the Construction of Mauritania	2,707	0.45	0	4,588	0.82	0	1,104	0.14	0	–	–	–	0
Third Generation Party	2,623	0.44	0	–	–	–	1,381	0.18	0	–	–	–	0
Democratic Union of Youth	2,602	0.44	0	–	–	–	706	0.09	0	–	–	–	0
Civilisation and Development Party	2,490	0.42	0	3,478	0.62	0	1,764	0.23	0	–	–	–	0
Alliance for Democracy in Mauritania	2,479	0.41	0	–	–	–	1,817	0.24	0	–	–	–	0
National Democratic Union	2,307	0.41	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Direct Democracy Union	2,266	0.38	0	–	–	–	1,756	0.23	0	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Party for Reform and Equality	2,163	0.36	0	–	–	–	662	0.09	0	–	–	–	0
Union of the Democratic Center	2,123	0.36	0	–	–	–	506	0.07	0	–	–	–	0
Party of Labour and Equality	1,943	0.33	0	–	–	–	1,306	0.17	0	–	–	–	0
New Vision Party	1,581	0.26	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Party for Democracy and Prosperity	1,547	0.26	0	–	–	–	191	0.02	0	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Party for Justice and Democracy	1,345	0.23	0	4,172	0.74	0	614	0.08	0	–	–	–	0
Coalition of Mauritanians for the Fatherland	1,117	0.19	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0
Mauritanian Party for Justice and Development	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,234	0.16	0	–	–	–	0
Party for a Contemporary Mauritania	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,167	0.15	0	–	–	–	0
Union of Social Forces	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,006	0.13	0	–	–	–	0
Rally of National Youth	–	–	–	–	–	–	925	0.12	0	–	–	–	0
Generation of a Democratic Future Party	–	–	–	–	–	–	681	0.09	0	–	–	–	0
Social Democratic Party	–	–	–	–	–	–	50	0.01	0	–	–	–	0
Wava Mauritanian Party	–	–	–	–	–	–	35	0.00	0	–	–	–	0
Coalitions	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,045	3.67	0	7,943	3.51	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	300,005	–	–	288,476	–	–	130,264	–	–	17,794	–	–	–
Total	878,693	100	20	848,911	100	20	894,410	100	78	243,998	100	28	146
Registered voters/turnout	1,189,105	73.90	–	1,189,105	71.39	–	1,179,384	75.84	–	311,940	78.22	–	–
Source: CENI

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References

↑ "Mauritania calls elections for October 12". AFP. Noukachott: Fox News. 3 August 2013.
1 2 "Mauritania - Campaign for 147 Legislative Seats Underway". all Africa. 11 November 2013.
↑ "Mauritania ruling party stays on top". 6 December 2013.
↑ "Mauritania's ruling party wins legislative polls". 22 December 2013.
↑ "Mauritania: Parliamentary and local elections postponed indefinitely". AFP. Noukachott. 25 August 2011.
1 2 3 4 "Mauritania election campaign underway despite opposition boycott". AFP. Nouakchott: Yahoo News. 8 November 2013.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Sadi, Hademine Ould (21 November 2013). "Sink or swim for Mauritania's Islamists". IOL News.
↑ "Mauritania election 'marred by ballot-stuffing'". Agence France-Presse. Global Post. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] "Mauritania calls elections for October 12". AFP. Noukachott: Fox News. 3 August 2013.

[all_Africa-2] 1 2 "Mauritania - Campaign for 147 Legislative Seats Underway". all Africa. 11 November 2013.

[3] "Mauritania ruling party stays on top". 6 December 2013.

[4] "Mauritania's ruling party wins legislative polls". 22 December 2013.

[5] "Mauritania: Parliamentary and local elections postponed indefinitely". AFP. Noukachott. 25 August 2011.

[Yahoo-6] 1 2 3 4 "Mauritania election campaign underway despite opposition boycott". AFP. Nouakchott: Yahoo News. 8 November 2013.

[Islamist-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sadi, Hademine Ould (21 November 2013). "Sink or swim for Mauritania's Islamists". IOL News.

[Global_Post_25_Nov-8] "Mauritania election 'marred by ballot-stuffing'". Agence France-Presse. Global Post. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.

v t e Elections and referendums in Mauritania
Presidential elections	1961 1966 1971 1976 1992 1997 2003 2007 2009 2014
Parliamentary elections	1946 1952 1957 1959 1965 1971 1975 1976 1992 1996 2001 2006 2013 2018
Regional elections	2018
Municipal elections	1986 ... 2018
French elections	1945 1946 (Jun) 1946 (Nov) 1951 1956
Referendums	1945 1946 (May) 1946 (Oct) 1958 1991 2006 2017