Mauritanians give massive backing to new constitution

Jun 26, 2006, 17:22 GMT

Nouakchott - Mauritanians have given massive backing to a new constitution aimed at opening a democratic era in the oil-rich north-west African desert state, Interior Minister Mohammed Ahmed Ould Mohammed Lemine announced Monday.

Ould Lemine said nearly 97 per cent of Mauritanians had backed the constitution in Sunday's referendum. He put voter turnout at 76.5 per cent.

The new constitution was proposed by a military junta headed by Colonel Ely Ould Mohammed Vall, which ousted President Maaouya Ould Taya in a bloodless coup in August 2005 after 21 years in power.

The constitution shortens the president's maximum time in office from indefinitely renewable six-year terms to two five-year terms and makes it difficult for him to modify that rule while in office.

The constitution also sets presidential candidates an age limit of 75 years and introduces 20 per cent quotas for female candidates in legislative and municipal elections.

The reform was unusual in Africa, where heads of state often seek to stay in power as long as possible.

Power has never changed hands without a coup in Mauritania, an Islamic republic of 3 million, since it became independent from France in 1960.

The referendum was to launch a series of polls aimed at introducing democracy, including legislative and municipal elections in November, a senate poll in January and presidential elections in March 2007.

The referendum boosted the popularity of the military junta, which has installed an interim civilian government and whose members have pledged not to contest any of the upcoming elections.

The referendum was supervised by about 30 international observers from the African Union, French-speaking countries and the Arab League, according to the Interior Ministry.

The number of eligible voters had been cut from 1.2 million to less than 1 million after the previous regime was accused of inflating the voter rolls for purposes of fraud.

Ould Taya seized power in a 1984 coup and was re-elected three times amid accusations of rigging.

Ould Taya, who lives in exile in Qatar, is remembered as an authoritarian ruler who censored the press, jailed opponents and kept power in the hands of the elite.

The vast majority of the 36 political parties backed the new constitution, including the former pro-Taya Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR).

Three smaller parties called for a boycott of the referendum, criticizing the draft constitution for not addressing 'real problems,' such as slavery, which was abolished in 1981, but vestiges of which still remain.

In other ways as well, Mauritania's blacks feel excluded from power held mainly by light-skinned Arab-Berber 'white Moors.'

Some experts estimate that slave descendants known as 'black Moors' and blacks from the south make up 60 per cent of the population.

The new authorities have increased press freedom and released dozens of people regarded as political prisoners, including Islamists.

They have, however, also maintained diplomatic relations with Israel despite the policy's unpopularity among the population.

Ould Vall has been praised for obtaining what are seen as more advantageous oil production sharing contracts from Australia's Woodside Petroleum, which is extracting 44,000 barrels a day off Mauritania.

The oil income could transform the economy of the country, which lies mainly within the Sahara desert. Hundreds of thousands of Mauritanians are currently facing food shortages after drought, floods and a locust invasion destroyed crops last year.