Mauritania
Electoral Institution
National Independent Electoral Commission
Population:
4 565 565
Eligible Voting Population:
1 544 132
Minimum Voter's Age:
18
Political Regime
Presidential. The President of Mauritania is elected by uninominal two-round majority vote for a five-year term, renewable once only. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast in the first round, a second round is convened two weeks later. The National Assembly is the sole chamber of Mauritania's unicameral parliament. It is composed of 157 seats whose members are elected for five years according to a parallel voting system. There are 113 seats to be filled in 47 constituencies under the first-past-the-post two-round majority system, and for those with three or more seats under the blocked multi-member proportional representation system, to which are added 40 seats under the blocked multi-member proportional representation system but in a single national constituency, half of which are reserved for women on a separate list.
Number of Political Parties:
Number of Election Held
General elections : 12 (1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2024 Parliamentary elections : 13 (1957, 1959, 1965, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2018, 2023 Rgional elections : 1 (2018) Municipal elections : 7 (1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 · 2006 · 2013 · 2018) Senatorial elections : 3 (1992, 2007, 2009) Referendums : 3 (1991, 2006, 2017)
When are the Next Elections?
General elections: June 2024 Parliamentary elections: 2023
Former French colony, independence was proclaimed on 28 November 1960. In 1961, the new Constitution established a presidential system and Moktar Ould Daddah was elected as the first president of Mauritania. Conflict with the Algerian-backed Polisaria plunged the country into a serious economic and political crisis which eventually led the Mauritanian military to depose President Mokhtar Ould Daddah in 1978. Various attempted putsches were foiled, including one on 16 March 1981. On 12 December 1984, Colonel Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces came to power through a coup d'état. In 1991, he proclaimed a new Constitution that established a multi-party system (with the exception of Islamist parties) and freedom of the press. In 1992, he was elected President, then re-elected in 1997 with more than 90% of the votes, while the opposition called for a boycott. In 2001, 6 new political parties were recognised by public authorities. On 3 August 2005, the army took power. Military coup of 6 August 2008 led to the arrest of the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister who were consequently deposed. Candidate supported by the former president Mohamed Ould El-Ghazaouani was elected in the first round on 22 June 2019.