Mauritania: Administrative and technical problems

Communications Minister Ould Hormah told the press that the government expected a strong turnout and that the elections would use advanced technology. He was specifically referring to biometric voter registration which, he said, would be deployed to ensure the elections were "transparent and credible".

The extent of the government's administrative and technological preparedness for the elections is not at all clear. While the government has, for some time, been making bland statements about the electoral role and biometric registration being at an advanced stage, there is no sign of hard evidence to back up the claim. Indeed, the COD certainly believes otherwise. It issued a statement on Sunday 4 August saying, “Most of the Mauritanian people haven't received identification cards, while the rest haven't been registered yet and will not be registered anytime soon because the necessary circumstances aren't available.”

There are still two months before the election and, as the recent election in neighbouring Mali has shown, a lot can be done in the last few weeks. But that could be difficult to achieve in Mauritania, largely because it will not have the same level of help from Western countries, notably from France and the UN.

If there are administrative and voter registration problems, then the situation would appear to be even worse among Mauritanian expatriate communities abroad, especially in France where the signs are that the majority are still not registered.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Minister: "All Mauritanians will be enrolled"

 

Speaking on 25 July at a hotel in Kaédi (Gorgol wilaya), the centre of civil unrest earlier in the month, the Minister of the Interior and Decentralisation, Mohamed Ould Boilil, said that all eligible Mauritanians would be enrolled on the electoral role. He was in Kaédi to discuss wilaya problems with local officials, including the Wali of Gorgol, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, following the unrest that hit the town earlier in the month.

 

During the course of his address, the minister took the opportunity to speak about the elections to be held in October under CENI's supervision. He explained how the ONS was conducting the census under the supervision of CENI and that, of the 1,700,000 Mauritanians of voting age, some 1,600,000 ID cards had already been delivered to the enrolment centres. Ould Boilil went on to explain how the state had provided CENI with all the means to carry out credible and fair elections and to prevent the sort of electoral fraud which characterised the country before 2009.

 

Editorial Note: The fact that the government has passed a law earlier this month enabling the military to vote in their barracks (Mauritania Politics & Security - 16.07.13) is indicative of how the ballot is likely to be manipulated by the government.

 

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Mauritania: Presidential majority agrees to aspects of Boulkheir initiative

 

A delegation of the Coalition of the Presidential Majority (CPM) met Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, President of the National Assembly and the People's Progressive Party Alliance (PPA), at his home on the evening of 9 May to give him their response in writing to his initiative to end the country's political crisis.

 

The delegation was led by Sheikh Ould Ethmane Ould Abou El Maaly, who holds the rotating presidency of the CPM. He was accompanied by:

Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed Lemine, President of the ruling UPR party;
Naha Mint Hamdi Ould Mouknass, President of the UDP;
Mintata Mint Hedeit, secretary general of RDRP;
Isselmou Ould Moustapha, President of the PCD; and
Lalla Mint Chriv, President of the (burst of) Youth Party.

 

The CPM's response was said to be broadly favourable and well disposed towards the initiative. A source close to Messaoud Boulkheir said that it was an “acceptable” answer. The consensus among the media reports is that the CPM is clearly willing to engage in dialogue with other parties on all the issues raised by Boulkheir's initiative, with the exception of forming a government of national unity, as long as they conformed to the country's constitution. Most reports described the CPM's response as being “flexible” and “positive”.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Mauritania: UFP demands “consensus” on elections

 

A hint of the likelihood of elections being delayed until next year was given in April by Mohamed Ould Mouloud, president of the Union des Forces du Progrès (UFP or Union of the Forces of Progress), in a debate organised by the Maghrebian Studies Centre.

Ould Mouloud warned that if a political consensus was not reached, the elections would take place not merely in abnormal conditions in Mauritania but in the worst political crisis that the country has experienced since 2008. He gave a strong hint of why the elections are likely to be derailed and rolled up into next year when he said that the UFP would not participate in elections "without a political consensus and strong guarantees that the election would be transparent, with people being able to choose freely without political pressure”.

The UFP is a left-leaning party, describing itself as a multi-ethnic, Republican party oriented towards social justice. It has made strong statements against the persecution of dark-skinned Mauritanians, the continuation of slavery and unfair labour practices. The UFP has also strongly condemned the involvement of the Mauritanian army in politics.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Mauritania becomes 'meeting ground' for Azawad fighters

 

There have been several, albeit mostly vague, reports and local chatter about how Mauritania is becoming a meeting place for most of the increasing number of groups and factions contesting the future of the Azawad region of Mali.

In addition to the almost 100,000 refugees from Mali still in Mauritania (see below), representatives of Tuareg and Arab communities and groups from Azawad, representatives and members of many of the terrorist/Islamist organisations and Azawadian political movements, as well as politically influential Malians, are using Mauritania as a safe haven in which to meet and discuss their strategies for the future of both Azawad and Mali as a whole.

For the moment, this situation has not yet threatened instability in Mauritania. But it certainly has the potential to do so, not simply because of the distinct possibility of renewed fighting or at least skirmishing between these many groups, but also because there are signs that many of the Islamists that have been driven out of Mali by the Franco-Chadian forces may seek a new haven in Mauritania.

This is a threat faced by many other countries in the region, notably Niger, Burkina Faso and Libya, but it is probably greatest in Mauritania because of its many sympathetic Salafist strands and the links that Mauritania already has with these Islamists groups (notably AQIM and MUJAO).

Two names which have been mentioned within some concern within this context are Henoune Ould Ali and Amar Ould Hamaha. Ould Ali, from a small Arab tribe linked to the Berabich, is a wealthy trader believed to be a significant financier of MUJAO. Ould Hamaha, generally known as “Red Beard” in the Malian press, was prominent in both AQIM and MUJAO, and believed to be responsible for many of the atrocities committed by the Islamists in Timbuktu before creating Ansar Shari'a.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Mauritania: Kinross lawsuit fails

 

It was reported on 23 March that Kinross Gold Corporation had failed to win the dismissal of a US lawsuit accusing it of defrauding shareholders over the Tasiast mine in Mauritania which has contributed to more than US$6 billion of company write-downs. The decision by US District Judge Paul Engelmayer stems from Kinross' US$7.1 billion 2010 acquisition of Red Back Mining which gave it control of the Tasiast gold mine and the Chirano gold mine in Ghana.

The judge, while calling the matter a “close question”, ruled that the shareholders may sue over losses between 10 August 2011, when Kinross delayed a feasibility study for the Tasiast mine, and 17 January 2012, which was a day after it took a US$2.94 billion non-cash, goodwill write-down related to the Red Back mines. Kinross took a separate US$3.21 billion write-down related to the mines on 13 February. 2013. The judge also let shareholders pursue claims against four Kinross executives, including Tye Burt who was ousted as chief executive last August.

Stanley Bernstein, a partner at Bernstein Liebhard, representing the plaintiffs, said: “We are gratified the court has sustained most of the complaint, and are looking forward to obtaining recovery for the shareholders who were defrauded.” In a statement, Kinross said: “The company believes that the surviving claims are without merit, and we will continue to vigorously defend against the litigation.”

Kinross shares fell more than 36% between 10 August 2011 and 17 January 2012 in both the US and Canada, and following further declines they are now roughly half their levels at the start of that period.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Military plane crashes

A Brazilian-made EMB-314 Super Tucano military aircraft crashed about 7km south of Aoujeft (c. 300 miles NE of Nouakchott) on the Adrar plateau at 10:50 on 18 March. The plane, which was at first reported to have been on a training mission, was actually on a test flight after undergoing maintenance.

The plane had two people on board. Captain Ahmed Taleb Ould Aheimed, who was piloting the aircraft, survived with only slight injuries. The mechanic, Sergeant Boubacar M'Bodj, was killed.

With French assistance, the Mauritanian army had established a training centre for pilots and technicians at Atar more than two years ago in order to respond to the AQIM terrorist attacks that had begun on the country in 2005. A military source indicated that the crash was the result of a “technical failure”, although an enquiry is being held.

 

This is the second military plane to crash in less than 12 months. In July 2012, a military plane crashed on the tarmac of Nouakchott airport, killing eight people.

 

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

 

© 2013 Menas Associates

Mauritania: Opposition boycotts independence celebrations

 

The COD boycotted the 52nd anniversary celebrations of Mauritania's independence from France on Wednesday 28 November, and instead protested against President Abdel Aziz's regime. The opposition group issued a statement saying they were "refus[ing] to take part in a ceremony attended by the president", whose resignation they have demanded in regular protests since 2011. The COD attempted to hold a parallel celebration but couldn't get authorisation.

The alternative 'independence anniversary celebration' planned by the COD for Wednesday 5 December was blocked by the security forces. Despite having obtained permission to hold a demonstration in Place Ibn Abbass, it was stopped by the police who blocked off the square prior to the arrival of the demonstrators. It is believed they feared the COD was planning a 'sit-in' although the latter claimed that their planned use of tents was merely to give shelter from the cold. The demonstrators withdrew peacefully.

Nevertheless, with the president again out of the country, the COD launched another attack on him, accusing him of “misrepresenting the facts” with regard to almost everything about his government.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Mauritania: What did happen to the President?

Mystery still surrounds what really did happen to the President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz when he was shot on the evening of 13 October while returning to Nouakchott after spending the weekend out of town.
 

The government's claim that it was an accident lacked credibility, not only because of its absurdity, but because the government versions were so varied and contradictory. In Mauritania Politics & Security – 30.10.12 we did, however, say that we were increasingly more inclined towards the 'accident' version, and we are now even more certain that this is true. The President was almost certainly shot by a military checkpoint guard or guards taken unawares by his passing.

Within hours of the incident, there were rumours that the President was having an affair and had been out of town for the weekend with a mistress. This version of events has been gathering pace, at least among those with knowledge of the President's private life and with access to what took place at and immediately after the accident. This explains why the Present was travelling ahead of his security detail and possibly why he was driving at such high speed.

We have also received information that other people travelling with him in his vehicle were killed in the shooting. Their identities have not been revealed. It is, however, strongly rumoured that one of those killed may have been his mistress. This would explain the early reports, subsequently denied, of bodies being taken to Nouakchott hospital. We have been told that at least two people may have been killed.

With the President's immediate circle trying to prevent leaks of such a scandal, it is hardly surprising that the official spokespersons kept tripping over themselves with one bizarre version of the accident after another. So, although the details of the story may have been pulled from a number of hats, it appears increasingly as if the fundamental substance of the 'accident' story may have been true.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Mauritania: The latest news on the president, as at 29 October

President Abdel Aziz was discharged from hospital in Paris on October 24. Differing reports had him staying in a hotel near an airport or at the Mauritania Embassy. The same reports said he was returning to Mauritania on Sunday 28 October.

The latest news, sourced to Mohamed Ould El Kory, director of ANAIR ( Agence Nation d'Appui et d'Insertion des Réfugiés) and co-ordinator of the ruling UPR's Political Commission, is that the president, since leaving the Percy Hospital (Paris) at 16:00 pm on 24 October, is now convalescing in Nice.

Even though his state of health is reportedly very good, Ould El Kory said that the president's doctors had recommended two weeks of rest. According to Ould El Kory, the president was “on top of things”, as evidenced by his appointment on 27 October of a Mauritanian Ambassador to Iraq and his assurance that he will preside over the next cabinet meeting (Council of Ministers) currently scheduled for 8 November.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Mauritania: Nouakchott rejects Libyan request for Senussi extradition

At the same time as Nouakchott was demanding Moustapha Ould Limam Chaafi's extradition from Senegal, it was refusing Libya's request for the extradition of Abdullah Senussi. Details of the latter's arrival and arrest in Mauritania, and the competing demands for his extradition, were described in Mauritania Politics & Security 29.05.12.

On Wednesday 4 July, Libya's Prime Minister Abderrahim El-Keib arrived in Nouakchott for a brief one-day visit. This followed a telephone conversation between President Abdel Aziz and the head of Libya's National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jelil, over Senussi's extradition. Senussi, who is also wanted by both France and the International Criminal Court, is awaiting trial in Mauritania for entering the country on a false passport.

Mauritania, however, officially refused Libya's request, giving two main reasons for doing so. Firstly, Senussi has not yet answered the charges of entering the country on a false passport. Nouakchott has also said it was not going to consider Senussi's extradition until after the outcome of the Libyan elections was known and the country was truly stable. Nouakchott gave assurances that Senussi would not be tortured and would receive a fair trial.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Mauritania's refugee crisis

There are warnings of a growing crisis and security threat emerging from the increasing number of refugees who have fled from Mali into Mauritania. The number of refugees in the main Mbere camp in north-east Mauritania, 60km from the Mali border, has risen to an estimated 75,000. Food shortages are becoming critical and the health situation is worsening.

Humanitarian relief organisations, notably UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Mauritanian Commissariat of Food Security and the International Fund for Food Security, along with UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders, are being stretched, especially as the number of refugees continues to increase and as the influx into the camps of poor families from the Mauritanian cities of Bassiknou and Fassale also grows. According to figures from journalists in the camps last week, about 100 deaths have so far been recorded, mostly among the elderly, women and children, while more than 1,700 people are suffering from severe to moderate malnutrition.

If relief efforts are not accelerated, food shortages will be exacerbated by the rainy season and blocked roads.

The US-based UPS delivery company flew some 13 tonnes of UNHCR aid items into Nouakchott from Copenhagen (Denmark) on 3 June for distribution in the Mbere camp, as well as vital UNICEF and World Food Programme (WFP) supplies. UPS, which is a UNHCR corporate partner, is covering all transport costs.

However, the message from the aid agencies is that more substantial funding is urgently needed. Otherwise, the situation in the camps is likely to become a humanitarian disaster, with serious implications for Mauritania.

Malnutrition problems are not confined to the Malian refugee camps. The WFP announced on 5 June that it was launching a Canadian-financed distribution programme of food supplements to 30,000 six-to-23-month old children in the Gorgol and Brakna regions, two of Mauritania's 'priority' zones for intervention by the WFP and the Mauritanian government.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Mauritania: Biram and six others charged

Discussion, anger and demonstrations over the actions of Biram Dah Ould Abeid are likely to continue for a long time. He and six other anti-slavery activists were formally charged at the end of May with threatening state security after they burned certain Malikite religious texts that they interpret to endorse slavery.

Biram's actions provoked massive public outcry throughout Mauritania and far beyond, especially across the Islamic world. Human rights organisations have mostly come to Biram's defence. Amnesty International's West Africa Researcher Gaeton Mootoo said the activists should be released. “These human rights defenders have the right to express their opinion”, he said.

Mootoo noted that Biram, the leader of one local anti-slavery group, has been an outspoken critic of human rights in Mauritania. He said that Biram has long denounced acts of slavery and the impunity enjoyed by slave owners.

The announcement of the charge prompted a further demonstration by Biram's supporters, which was broken up by police.

No trial date has yet been set. However, what is certain is that Biram's case will long be the focus of dispute and demonstration, with his trial, if it takes place, being the subject of much international interest.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has sacked the head of Mauritania's Supreme Court, Seyid Ould Ghaylani. The sacking, which many believe to be constitutionally illegal, is likely to swell and accelerate what is being described as a 'slow-burn' movement (see below) against Abdel Aziz.

Ould Ghaylani's dismissal was announced in a presidential decree published in the state media last week. According to constitution, the head of the Supreme Court can only be replaced or suspended if he resigns, is physically unable to work or is deemed unfit to hold the post. No reason has been given for the shift.

Ould Ghaylani, who was due to remain president of the Supreme Court until 2015, has refused to leave his post, saying that his removal was illegal and an attempt by the president to undermine the independence and powers of the judiciary. Despite this, Ould Ghaylani found the entrance to his office barred by security forces. He told the media on Sunday 27 May that “I refuse this humiliation and personalisation of the judiciary”.

According to the presidential degree, which named Yahfdhou Ould Mohamed Youssef as the new head of the court, Ould Ghaylani was offered the position of Mauritania's new ambassador to Yemen. Ould Mohamed Youssef was sworn in on 28 May.

Hatem, an influential opposition party, called the sacking a “coup against the judiciary”. The prominent Mauritanian lawyer and human rights activist, Brahim Ould Ebety, was quoted as saying: “It is a serious attack on the constitutional independence of the judiciary and therefore justice, which is the basis for any democratic system.”

Although Abdel Aziz has the backing of the US, France and UK for his tough stance against terrorism and AQIM, domestic protests against his regime have been mounting. There are now almost weekly public demonstrations demanding that he step down because of his militaristic and dictatorial regime, his failure to organise legislation elections, his corruption, mismanagement and poor handling of the food crisis. His sacking of Ould Ghaylani could, therefore, have profound political consequences.

For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates