Independence:
28 November 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Constitution:
12 July 1991
Legal system:
a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Col. Ely Ould Mohamed VALL, whose Military Council
for Justice and Democracy deposed longtime President Maaouya Ould
Sid Ahmed TAYA in a coup on 3 August 2005
head of government: Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould BOUBAKAR (since
8 August 2005)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(eligible for a second consecutive term); note - passage of a
constitutional reform referendum in July 2006 limits president to
two five-year terms; election last held 7 November 2003 (next to be
held 11 March 2007); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected
for a third term with 60.8% of the vote
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh
(56 seats; a portion of seats up for election every two years;
members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and
the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (95 seats; members elected
by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 and 16 April 2004 (next to be held
21 January 2007); National Assembly - last held 19 November and 3
December 2006
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party - NA
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts
Political parties and leaders:
Action for Change or AC (no longer active) [Messoud Ould
BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Cisse Amadou
CHEIKHOU]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD
[Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality, and Justice or PLEJ
[Ba Mamdou ALASSANE]; Party of Democratic Convergence or PCD [Cheikh
Ould HORMA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE];
Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR];
Progress Force Union or UFP (no longer active) [Mohamed Ould
MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH];
Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA];
Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR (formerly ruling
Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS) [Boullah Ould
MOGUEYA]; Right Way or SAWAB [Cheikh Ould Sidi Ould HANANA]; Union
for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]; Union of
Forces of Progress or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]
note: the Party of Democratic Convergence was banned in October 2005
because it was regarded as Islamist and therefore in breach of
Mauritanian law
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Arab nationalists; Ba'thists; General Confederation of Mauritanian
Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general];
Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory
Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely
Ould BRAHIM, secretary general]