Instead of having
unilaterally-led elections, there will be now … a multi-party
election in transparency, in a balanced manner, so that while
overcoming the crisis, Mauritania would be, at the same time,
deepening its democratic practices and culture."
(Langtani Lamamra, the
African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security, speaking
to a foreign radio reporter, Wednesday, June 3).
Mauritanian, a country
located along Africa’s west coast, is one of the continents
largest, geographically. With a population of just over 3.5
million, it nevertheless ranks as one of the sub-region’s
least populous states. However, one thing it has that only a
few countries within the sub-region possess is almost an equal
mix of ethnic Arab tribes and darker-skinned indigenous
African tribes.
Mauritania is a former
colony of France: its official language is Arabic, which is
spoken by the country’s ruling class.
Since 2005, this
partly-desert country has not left the radar of the world
community for two main reasons. Firstly, it used to be home to
one of the longest dictatorship in Africa. Secondly, it has
remained one of the very few countries anywhere on the
continent, and indeed, around the wider international
community, where the military still holds sway.
Nearly four years ago,
the army intervened to end the 22 years old dictatorship of
President Seed Maouya Ahmed Ali Ould Taya. Popular support for
the coup inside Mauritania, as well as some degree of
acquiescence by many foreign governments, enabled the coup
leader, Col. Mohammed Val and his colleagues to set up a
transition government dominated and effectively run by the
military, lasting over two-and-half years.
In August, 2007, the
military authorities organized what was seen as the country’s
first real attempt at holding true multi-party elections.
Incidentally, Col. Val or any of his lieutenants did not stand
in those polls, which produced President Seed Ould Sheikh
Abdoulahi as Mauritania’s first freely elected leader. After
less than nine months in office, the military struck again,
overthrowing Mr. Abdoulahi in the process.
The leader of the new
junta, General Mohammed Ould Abdul Aziz, accused the elected
civilian government of corruption, nepotism and of trying to
divide the country. The international community was
unconvinced. From the United Nations, to the African Union [A.U]
to the Arab League, ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African
States], opposition to the coup of ten months ago has been
unanimous. From the all-powerful European Union, on which
Mauritania relies a great deal for economic and technical
support, to the union of Francophone countries, which has been
highly influential across many parts of Africa due to the
involvement of the French, everyone had pretty much decided
that General Aziz and his supporters would not be allowed to
remain in power.
But, the decision of
Mauritania’s immediate neighbours not to be follow old ways by
breaking ranks with the rest of the world on an issue like
this has proved to be a critical important factor in bringing
about the good news that has been emerging over the crisis in
Mauritania since Tuesday, June 2, 2009. One such neighbour is
Senegal, which has been hosting peace talks between
Mauritania’s military authorities, led by General Aziz, and
the opposition. In a way that he’s not bothered to hound
coup-makers in neighbouring Guinea-Conakry, Senegali president
Abdoulahi Wade, has been uncompromising in his criticism of
the Aziz regime.
But, the man whose
opposition to the military junta in Mauritania has received
the most publicity is Libya’s leader and A.U. chairman, Col.
Moamma Qadafi. Since as the chairman of the continental body,
the influential Libyan strongman has been to Nouakchott,
Mauritania’s capital, and invited the disputing parties over
to Tripoli, a number of times, basically to twist their arms
and bang their heads together.
Col. Qadafi has not been
equally as willing to take on the military junta in Guinea
Conakry at least publicly. Even in Mauritania’s case, he has
warned the western world and others to "stop interfering in
Mauritania’s internal affairs". Having said that, however, the
Libyan leader, who himself came to power via a coup back in
1969, is reported to have warned General Aziz that he could
not count on Libya’s support, if he chose to defy the
international community on the question of returning
Mauritania to multi-party democracy as soon as possible.
Well, those concerted
pressures by the international community did indeed yield some
dividend early this month, June 2 to be precise, when the
military rulers in the embattled West African finally agreed
to postpone the special presidential election, originally
scheduled to hold Saturday, June 6. The political opposition
had almost unanimously resolved to boycott the polls. But, by
agreeing to sign up to the deal, the opposition parties had in
effect accepted to participate.
Brokered in Senegal, the
new agreement recognizes the longstanding agitation of the
Mauritanian opposition for a delay in the polls, as a
condition for taking part. The deal fixed July 18 as the date
for the election. The agreement designed to end Mauritania’s
ten-month-old political crisis, does, in principle, divide a
newly constituted "transitional government of national unity"
between the military authorities and their opponents.
President Cheik Abdoulahi’s removal by General Aziz happened
in August, last year; and now, the new power-sharing deal
stipulated that Mr. Abdoulahi, the ousted leader will lead the
transitional government, but, not before he has formally
resigned his post as the elected head of state. The agreement
also mandated General Aziz to name the prime minister of the
new government, along with 14 other ministers. The remaining
ministerial portfolios, 15 in all, including interior, finance
and information, are to be divided between Mr. Abdoulahi’s
National Front for the Defence of Democracy, in effect the
ruling party until the 2008 coup, and the opposition Alliance
of Democratic Forces.
The agreement, whose
official signing ceremony took place in Nouakchott,
Mauritania, on Wednesday, June 3, came on the heels of arduous
negotiations in Dakar, Senegal, backed by the A.U.., the Arab
League, the E.U., the Francophone and the U.N. For nearly a
year, the military junta in Nouakchott has refused demands by
the A.U. to reinstate President Abdoulahi. Instead, they
changed the constitution, in order that retired military
officers can run for office.
The general has been
campaigning on a slogan of "constructive change", promising to
fight corruption and improve Mauritania’s infrastructure. It
is also clear that the opposition have had to drop their
insistence that neither the general nor any member of his
military junta should be allowed torn for president.
At the same time,
however, the decision of the political opposition to drop
their boycott has meant that General Aziz will now face more
serious challengers in the July 18 vote. Even at that he’s
still seen as the front-runner. Equally, he now has the
opportunity to contest an election that is, most probably,
more legitimate than the botched polling of Saturday, June
6—an exercised that has been widely criticized by the
international community.
If no candidate is able
to win an absolute majority on July 18, namely by reaching the
50 per cent threshold, the June 2 deal calls for a second
round of balloting on August 1.
E-mail tonyoke2008@yahoo.com
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