2006 Mauritanian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Mauritania on 19 November, with a second round 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]

Results

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]

Party		First round			Second round			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Rally of Democratic Forces			12			3	15
	Union of the Forces of Progress			3			5	8
	Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal			4			3	7
	People's Progressive Alliance			4			1	5
	Rally for Democracy and Unity			2			1	3
	Union for Democracy and Progress			1			2	3
	APP–HATEM			0			2	2
	Democratic Renovation			2			0	2
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change			2			0	2
	RFP–UFP			0			2	2
	Alternative			0			1	1
	National Rally for Democracy, Liberty and Equality			1			0	1
	People's Front			1			0	1
	Socialist Democratic Unionist Party			1			0	1
	Union of the Democratic Center			0			1	1
	Independents			10			31	41
Invalid/blank votes		122,716	–	–	27,289	–	–	–
Total		788,029		43	439,835		52	95
Registered voters/turnout		1,073,287	73.42	–	632,956	69.49	–	–
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 (in 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 (in French).