Praise for Mauritania’s Smooth Democratic Transition
May 4, 2007 | Printer Friendly

In an April 27, 2007, op-ed in The Weekly Standard entitled “Hail Mauritania,” journalist James Kirchick praises Mauritania’s successful campaign process, national elections, and democratic transition. Kirchick also pays tribute to the presidential runner-up, Ould Daddah, a vocal dissident of the former regime, who received 47 percent of the vote to Abdallahi’s 53 percent.  Kirchick admires that “rather than contest the election and pledge to undermine it--a common tactic among electoral losers in fledgling democracies--Ould Daddah has committed himself to seeing his country's peaceful transition succeed.”

Despite being one of the few countries in the region to produce a peaceful and truly democratic election, Kirchick is disappointed by its lack of coverage in the media.  Moreover, he compares the smooth election day events in Mauritania with violent happenings elsewhere in Africa, writing “In Zimbabwe, on the very same day as the Mauritanian general election, President Mugabe unleashed a torrent of violence against peaceful protestors holding a prayer meeting outside the capital city of Harare.  He followed with a nationwide crackdown on the opposition, in which his secret police abducted activists from their homes for brutal beatings and interrogations.”  But Kirchick hopes that people in Zimbabwe “may take heart from the fact that Mauritania used to be as turbulent.”

In other news about the transition in Mauritania it was reported that the new president of Mauritania, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, has appointed a cabinet of civilian technocrats to help lead his country away from its violent and oppressive past, according to Reuters; Abdallahi assumed the Presidency on April 19, 2007, in an election that international observers proclaimed free and fair.  It was the first election since a military group seized power in August 2005, deposing longtime dictator Maaoya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya, and promising to bring democracy to the country

Sources
http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN046176.html
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/587dtfvq.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6494687.stm