Mauritania polls test junta's will to leave power
Source: Reuters
By Daniel Flynn NOUAKCHOTT, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Mauritanians vote on Sunday in parliamentary polls which will test the willingness of their military rulers to hand over the Saharan country to civilian, democratic rule after a bloodless coup last year. Sunday's ballot in the impoverished Islamic Republic, which straddles black and Arab West Africa, is the first election since the August 2005 coup ended two decades of dictatorship and it paves the way for presidential elections in March. The campaign has brought two weeks of celebrations to the farthest reaches of the desert nation of 3 million people, with music and political slogans blaring from loudspeakers late into the night at carpeted Bedouin tents in towns and villages. Observers say the presence of black African parties may raise tensions with the traditional Moorish elite, which holds power in Africa's newest oil producer. Diplomats are also watching for support toward Islamist candidates in a region regarded as an arena in the U.S. war on terror. Power has never changed hands through the ballot box in Mauritania, whose history has been marred by coups and decades of one party rule since independence from France in 1960 -- a trend which Sunday's vote hopes to correct. Many Mauritanians, however, remain unconvinced the legislative and municipal polls will usher in a better life. "Democracy is just a mirage, an illusion," said Fatima, a 19-year-old girl in brightly-coloured headscarf, jostling in the darkness among a crowd watching dancers in a brightly-lit tent in the capital Nouakchott. "Nothing will change." The military council, headed by Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, has pushed ahead with political reform since ousting President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. A referendum in June approved constitutional changes to limit presidential terms -- making Mauritania one of the few Arab nations to impose such measures and bucking the trend in sub-Saharan Africa. "Our duty is to watch over our country's interests," Vall said in a recent speech, vowing to punish severely any fraud in Sunday's poll. "The democratic choices of the Mauritanian people will not be called into question." OIL DISAPPOINTS Mauritania started pumping oil in February, but initial results from the field operated by Australia's Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> have been disappointing. Many of Mauritania's 1.1 million voters believe change will be slow in coming. In the oasis town of Chinguetti, famed for its ancient Islamic libraries and mosque, revellers in flowing robes pass from one campaign tent to the next under the stars, often moving on when the music stops and speeches begin. "Here candidates spend money on music and food during the campaign, because they know they will get it back once they are in office," said Abdu Zarga, 28, who runs a guesthouse. Twenty-eight political parties are competing for the 95 seats in the national assembly, with the Assembly of Democratic Forces (RFD) of veteran opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah expected to perform strongly. The military junta has also encouraged independent candidates to take part: of the 1,222 electoral lists for municipal elections, over a quarter are independents. Many Mauritanians see this as a effort to humble political parties. The national assembly building in Nouakchott is currently serving as the headquarters of the military junta. "The military council wants candidates they can control. They are afraid that under the next government they could be prosecuted," said Hassan Massould, in the northern town of Atar. Vall, a long-time security chief under Taya, has dismissed claims the military council wants a puppet government: "If that was our aim, we would stay in power." (Additional reporting by Ibrahima Sylla)
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