Mauritanian parliamentary election, 2006

Mauritanian parliamentary election, 2006

November 19 & December 3 2006

All 95 seats to the National Assembly 48 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   Leader Ahmed Ould Daddah Party Al-Mithaq RFD Last election N/A 3 seats Seats won 41 25 Seat change 41 22

Parliamentary and municipal elections in Mauritania occurred on 19 November and 3 December 2006.^[1][2] At least 28 political parties competed to comprise the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly; Islamist parties were banned, but many Islamists ran as independent candidates. 95 seats in the National Assembly were at stake in the election, along with over 200 local councils.^[3]

About 600 independent candidates ran in the election, many of whom were grouped into the National Rally of Independents (RNI). Many members of the RNI were formerly members of the Democratic and Social Republican Party, which had ruled the country under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.^[4]

Before the first round's count was complete, Ahmed Ould Daddah claimed victory for his party, the Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD), saying that it was "the country's biggest political force", and claiming that the eight-party coalition including the RFD had won a majority. The Popular Alliance for Progress (APP), a party for former slaves that is also part of the coalition, and the renamed former ruling party, the Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal, were also reported to have performed well.^[5] Results from the first round confirmed a strong showing for the RFD, which won 12 out of the 43 declared seats;^[3][6] independent candidates also did well, taking 24 seats.^[6] For 52 seats, however, candidates did not receive majorities and these seats had to be decided in the second round.^[3][6]

After the second round was held on 3 December, the coalition of former opposition parties had 39 seats (including 15 for the RFD), with an additional two seats for independents supporting the coalition. Independents won 41 seats, 39 of which were part of the RNI. The former ruling party won seven seats.^[4]

17.89% of the deputies elected were female.^[4]

Messaoud Ould Boulkheir of the APP was elected as President of the National Assembly on April 26, 2007. There were 93 deputies present for the vote, and 91 of them voted for Boulkheir; two other deputies, Babah Ould Ahmed Babou and El Arbi Ould Jideyne, each received one vote.^[7]

 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

References

1. Election Guide, Mauritania.
2. "Mauritania stages historic poll", BBC News, 19 November 2006.
3. "Opposition leads Mauritania race", BBC News, November 23, 2006.
4. IPU page on 2006 parliamentary election (French).
5. "Mauritanian opposition leader claims victory", November 21, 2006.
6. "Another step in democratic transition", IRIN, November 23, 2006.
7. "L'Assemblée nationale élit M. Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, son président", AMI, April 26, 2007 (French).