Mauritanian Senate election, 2007
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Mauritania |
Senatorial elections were held in Mauritania on 21 January 2007 and on 4 February 2007.[1][2] There are 56 seats in the Senate. The senators were elected by 3,688 municipal councillors,[3][4] except for three (who represent the Mauritanian diaspora) who were chosen by the elected senators.[1][2]
The period for the deposit of candidacies ran from 12 December to midnight on 21 December 2006.[5] 187 candidate lists were filed, including 133 for independents and 54 for parties or coalitions.[4] 170 lists were cleared to participate: 118 for independents, 37 for parties and 15 for coalitions. The campaign for the election began at midnight on January 4 and continued through January 19.[6][7]
38 seats were chosen in the first round; independents of the Al-Mithaq coalition won 23 seats, while the Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal, which had been the ruling party during the presidency of Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, only won 3 seats[1] and the opposition Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change (including the Rally of Democratic Forces) won 11 seats.
Of the 15 seats decided in the second round, eleven were won by Al-Mithaq independents and four by the CFCD. This resulted in the following totals:[1][8]
| Parties | 1st round | 2nd round | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| Al-Mithaq (moderate Islamist independents) | 2,258 | 63.14 | 23 | 1,081 | 69.79 | 11 | 34 | |
| Rally of Democratic Forces (Regroupement des Forces Démocratiques) and allies | 365 | 10.21 | 5 | 98 | 6.33 | 1 | 6 | |
| Rally of Democratic Forces–Union of Forces of Progress (RFD-UFP) | 76 | 4.91 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (Parti Républicain Démocratique et Renouvellement) | 231 | 6.46 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Union of Forces of Progress (Union des Forces du Progrès) | 129 | 3.61 | 1 | 29 | 1.87 | 0 | 1 | |
| Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change (Coalition des Forces de Changements) | 83 | 2.32 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (Parti mauritanien de l'union et du changement/HATEM) and allies | 31 | 0.87 | 1 | 103 | 6.65 | 2 | 3 | |
| Union for Democracy and Progress (Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès) and allies | 28 | 0.78 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| People's Progressive Alliance (Alliance populaire progressiste) and allies | 12 | 0.34 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| representatives of the diaspora | 3 | |||||||
| Total | 3,137 | 100.0 | 38 | 1,387 | 100.0 | 15 | 56 | |
The vote for one seat was cancelled due to irregularities and planned to be held again later. Participation among the councillors who voted in the election was placed at 97.94%.[8] The three senators representing Mauritanians abroad were elected by the Senate on 9 June.[1]
Bâ Mamadou dit M'Baré, a Senator from Maghama, was elected as President of the Senate on April 26, 2007. 40 Senators voted for Bâ Mamadou dit M'Baré, while 11 voted for Ahmed Salem Ould Bakar, a Senator from Boutilimit.[9] The other seven members of the bureau of the Senate were elected later on the same day, with 41 votes in favor and 11 against. Néma Senator Hamma Ould Cheikh Saad Bouh was elected as First Vice-President, Rosso Senator Mohamed El Hacen Ould El Hadj was elected as Second Vice-President, and Tevragh Zeina Senator Rivaa Mint Ahmed Nalla was elected as Third Vice-President.[10]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Results from the IPU.
- 1 2 "Les deux tiers du Sénat mauritanien pourvus au premier tour, dimanche", African Press Agency, January 22, 2007 (French).
- ↑ Ibrahima Sylla, "Mauritania elects Senate", Independent Online (South Africa), January 21, 2007.
- 1 2 "187 listes candidates aux élections sénatoriales", Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, December 24, 2006 (French).
- ↑ "Fin du délai de dépôt des candidatures au sénat ce soir à minuit", Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, December 21, 2006 (French).
- ↑ "Démarrage de la campagne électorale pour les sénatoriales du 21 janvier 2007", Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, January 4, 2007 (French).
- ↑ "3.688 conseillers municipaux élisent dimanche 53 sénateurs de la chambre haute", Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, January 19, 2007 (French).
- 1 2 "Sénatoriales: la coalition ""Al Mithaq"" remporte le second tour", avmaroc.com, February 5, 2007 (French).
- ↑ "Le Sénat élit M. Bâ Mamadou dit M'Baré, son président", AMI, April 26, 2008 (French).
- ↑ "La Chambre haute du parlement élit son bureau", AMI, April 26, 2007 (French).
