Mauritanian coup dashes hopes of democracy

Aug 6, 2008, 17:07 GMT

Nouakchott, Mauritania - Wednesday's military coup in Mauritania was welcomed by many residents of the north-west African country, but it also dealt a blow to hopes of increasing democracy on the continent.

Mauritania was not just another politically unstable African country, but had widely been regarded as an example of how transparent elections and a peaceful handover of power were possible in a state with a history of military coups.

The bloodless coup that occurred 16 months after a presidential poll had capped a string of democratic elections raised new doubts about Mauritania's maturity for democracy.

'Instead of feeling disappointment over the failure of democratic mechanisms, Mauritanians feel satisfied that a bad president has been gotten rid of,' a local analyst commented.

The 'coup against legitimacy,' as toppled president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi's spokesman put it, was triggered by the sacking of the coup leader, presidential guard commander Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, and the army chief of staff.

Cheikh Abdallahi and prime minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf were reported under house arrest.

The president and government had previously come under criticism for rising food prices and corruption suspicions concerning a foundation run by Cheikh Abdallahi's wife.

The political tension culminated in a no-confidence vote in the government and a reshuffle eliminating ministers linked to 1984-2005 dictator Maaouya Ould Taya, who had been accused of corruption.

Two days before the coup, 48 legislators of the ruling party had staged a walk-out in a new blow to the president.

The military officers behind the coup were especially critical of Cheikh Abdallahi's contacts with Salafist Islamists, accusing him of not fighting the growing presence of al-Qaeda in the traditionally moderate Islamic country.

Several terrorist acts have shocked Mauritanians recently, including the killings of four French tourists and several Mauritanian soldiers in December that prompted the cancellation of the Lisbon-Dakar rally.

Instead of trying to deal with problems in a democratic fashion, however, the military resorted to the familiar mechanism of a coup.

Wednesday's coup was the 10th successful or attempted one in the country of 3 million residents since it became independent from France in 1960.

Ould Taya's 21-year iron-fist rule also ended in a coup, but the junta that ousted him surprised Mauritanians by staging constitutional, parliamentary, municipal, senate and presidential elections followed by the handover of power to civilians.

Former economics minister Cheikh Abdallahi became Mauritania's first president to have been elected without fraud, but the enthusiasm over democracy soon gave way to disgruntlement.

'Democracy is great, but you cannot eat it,' one representative of the parliamentary opposition said.

The desert country is among Africa's new oil producers, but it has been unable to exploit its resources sufficiently to compensate for the ongoing global food crisis.

Hopes for tourism revenues also faded with the cancellation of the Dakar rally.

Inhabited mainly by cattle-herding nomads until fairly recently, Mauritania retains strong clan structures that some observers see as not favouring modern democracy.