Mauritanian presidential election, 1997

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Mauritanian presidential election, 1997
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Nominee Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine
Party DSRP Independent
Popular vote801,19061,869
Percentage90.9%7.0%
President before election

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
DSRP

Elected President

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
DSRP

Mauritania
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This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Mauritania

Presidential elections were held in Mauritania on 12 December 1997. Incumbent President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya won the election with 91% of the vote. Voter turnout was 74.7%. [1]

Mauritania Islamic republic in Northwest Africa

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.

Maaouya Ould SidAhmed Taya Prime Minister and President of Mauritania

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the president of Mauritania from 1984 to 2005. Having come to power through a military coup, he was ousted by a military coup himself in 2005. Prior to his presidency, he was the 5th Prime Minister of Mauritania.

Contents

Background

President Taya came to power in a coup d'état in 1984 and ruled Mauritania as one-party state for the next 8 years. [2] Under the 1991 constitution multi-party democracy was introduced with Taya being elected with 62% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election. [2]

Coup détat Sudden deposition of a government; illegal and overt seizure of a state by the military or other elites within the state apparatus

A coup d'état, also known as a putsch, a golpe, or simply as a coup, means the overthrow of an existing government; typically, this refers to an illegal, unconstitutional seizure of power by a dictator, the military, or a political faction.

A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of state in which one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections. Sometimes the term de facto one-party state is used to describe a dominant-party system that, unlike the one-party state, allows democratic multiparty elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent the opposition from winning the elections.

Constitution Set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed

A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.

However the opposition alleged that the 1992 election had been fraudulent [2] and the main opposition groups in Mauritania boycotted the 1997 election as they said it would not be a fair contest with, for instance, the electoral commission not being independent. [3]

Boycott act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country

A boycott is an act of voluntary and intentional abstention from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict some economic loss on the target, or to indicate a moral outrage, to try to compel the target to alter an objectionable behavior.

Candidates

The campaign began on 27 November with President Taya the clear favourite. Taya focused on the performance of the economy and reinforcing democracy during his campaign. Taya was backed by the Mouvance Presidentielle, which included the Rally for Democracy and Unity (RDU) and a faction of the Union of Democratic Forces. [4]

The Rally for Democracy and Unity (RDU) is a political party in Mauritania. The party was founded in 1991, and has been since led by Ahmed Ould Sidi Baba.

The Union of Democratic Forces-New Era was a political party in Mauritania, founded in 1991. The secretary-general of the party was Ahmed Ould Daddah. In February 1997 the five-party Front of Opposition Parties (FPO), including the UFD-EN, was formed; it boycotted the December 1997 presidential election, in which President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was easily re-elected.

Four candidates challenged Taya including, Kane Amadou Moctar, the first black African to run for president [5] in a country that had been dominated politically by Moors since independence. [2] Moctar was a former hospital administrator who pledged to oppose slavery and establish a new policy of fisheries. [4] Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine was a former cabinet minister who had quit the RDU to form his own party and campaigned to eliminate slavery. [4]

Moors medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta

The term "Moors" refers primarily to the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during the Middle Ages. The Moors initially were the indigenous Maghrebine Berbers. The name was later also applied to Arabs.

Slavery System under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work

Slavery is any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy and sell other individuals, as a de jure form of property. A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the term chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised, de jure slavery. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against their own will. Scholars also use the more generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour to refer to such situations. However, and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word, slaves may have some rights and protections according to laws or customs.

Moulaye El Hacen Ould Jeid was the secretary general of the Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concord and in his campaign called for press censorship to be ended. Lastly Mohammed Mahmoud Ould Mah was the secretary general of the Popular Social and Democratic Union. He had contested the 1992 election and pledged to renegotiate agreements with the European Union and International Monetary Fund if he was elected. [4]

European Union Economic and political union of European states

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

International Monetary Fund International organisation

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of "189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had SDR477 billion.

Results

President Taya won the election with official figures showing a turnout of around 74%, however the opposition claimed that their boycott had been successful and did not accept the official results. [6] Voter turnout in the capital Nouakchott and the second city Nouadhibou was low but turnout was reported by the government to be higher elesewhere in the country. [2] Taya won just over 90% of the vote, with the former minister Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine coming second with 7%. [7]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal 801,19090.94
Chbih Ould Cheikh MalainineIndependent61,8697.02
Moulaye El Hacen Ould JeidMauritanian Party for Renewal and Concord8,1650.93
Mohammed Mahmoud Ould MahPopular Social and Democratic Union6,4430.73
Kane Amadou MoctarParty for Liberty, Equality and Justice3,3420.38
Invalid/blank votes19,191–
Total900,200100
Registered voters/turnout1,203,35774.81
Source: Nohlen et al.

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References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p597 ISBN   0-19-829645-2
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mauritanian opposition cries foul". Middle East Times . 1997-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  3. ↑ "Mauritanian president wins poll". BBC News Online . 1997-12-13. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Mauritania: IRIN-WA Election Brief, 12/11/97". Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa. 1997-12-11. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  5. ↑ "Mauritania votes". The Independent. 1997-12-13. p. 10.
  6. ↑ "Mauritania president stays on". The Independent. 1997-12-15. p. 10.
  7. ↑ "Mauritania presidency won in landslide". Toledo Blade . 1997-12-14. Retrieved 2009-07-26.[ dead link ]
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