1997 Mauritanian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Mauritania on 12 December 1997. Incumbent President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya won the election with 91% of the vote. Voter turnout was 74.7%.[1]

1997 Mauritanian presidential election

12 December 1997

Nominee Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine Party DSRP Independent Popular vote 801,190 61,869 Percentage 90.9% 7.0%

President before election Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya DSRP Elected President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya DSRP

Background

President Taya came to power in a coup d'état in 1984 and ruled Mauritania as one-party state for the next 8 years.[2] Under the 1991 constitution multi-party democracy was introduced with Taya being elected with 62% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election.[2]

However the opposition alleged that the 1992 election had been fraudulent[2] and the main opposition groups in Mauritania boycotted the 1997 election as they said it would not be a fair contest with, for instance, the electoral commission not being independent.[3]

Candidates

The campaign began on 27 November with President Taya the clear favourite. Taya focused on the performance of the economy and reinforcing democracy during his campaign. Taya was backed by the Mouvance Presidentielle, which included the Rally for Democracy and Unity (RDU) and a faction of the Union of Democratic Forces.[4]

Four candidates challenged Taya including, Kane Amadou Moctar, the first black African to run for president[5] in a country that had been dominated politically by Moors since independence.[2] Moctar was a former hospital administrator who pledged to oppose slavery and establish a new policy of fisheries.[4] Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine was a former cabinet minister who had quit the RDU to form his own party and campaigned to eliminate slavery.[4]

Moulaye El Hacen Ould Jeid was the secretary general of the Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concord and in his campaign called for press censorship to be ended. Lastly Mohammed Mahmoud Ould Mah was the secretary general of the Popular Social and Democratic Union. He had contested the 1992 election and pledged to renegotiate agreements with the European Union and International Monetary Fund if he was elected.[4]

Results

President Taya won the election with official figures showing a turnout of around 74%, however the opposition claimed that their boycott had been successful and did not accept the official results.[6] Voter turnout in the capital Nouakchott and the second city Nouadhibou was low but turnout was reported by the government to be higher elsewhere in the country.[2] Taya won just over 90% of the vote, with the former minister Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine coming second with 7%.[7]

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya	Democratic and Social Republican Party	801,190	90.94
	Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine	Independent	61,869	7.02
	Moulaye El Hacen Ould Jeid	Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concord	8,165	0.93
	Mohammed Mahmoud Ould Mah	Popular Social and Democratic Union	6,443	0.73
	Kane Amadou Moctar	Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice	3,342	0.38
Total			881,009	100.00
Valid votes			881,009	97.87
Invalid/blank votes			19,191	2.13
Total votes			900,200	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,203,357	74.81
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p597 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
2. "Mauritanian opposition cries foul". Middle East Times. 1997-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
3. "Mauritanian president wins poll". BBC News Online. 1997-12-13. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
4. "Mauritania: IRIN-WA Election Brief, 12/11/97". Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa. 1997-12-11. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
5. "Mauritania votes". The Independent. 1997-12-13. p. 10.
6. "Mauritania president stays on". The Independent. 1997-12-15. p. 10.
7. "Mauritania presidency won in landslide". Toledo Blade. 1997-12-14. Retrieved 2009-07-26.