1997 Mauritanian presidential election
12 December 1997
 
Nominee Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine
Party PRDS Independent
Popular vote 801,190 61,869
Percentage 90.25% 6.97%
President before election

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
PRDS

 Elected President

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
PRDS

Presidential elections were held in Mauritania on 12 December 1997. Incumbent President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya won the election with 90% of the vote. Voter turnout was 75%.[1]

Background

President Ould Taya came to power in a coup d'état in 1984 and ruled Mauritania as one-party state for the next seven 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 Ould Taya the clear favourite. Ould Taya focused on the performance of the economy and reinforcing democracy during his campaign. Ould 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 Ould 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 Ould Taya won the elections 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] Ould Taya won just over 90% of the vote, with the former minister Chbih Ould Cheikh Malainine coming second with 7%.[7]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TayaDemocratic and Social Republican Party801,19090.25
Chbih Ould Cheikh MalainineIndependent61,8696.97
Moulaye El Hacen Ould JeidMauritanian Party for Renewal and Concord8,1650.92
Mohammed Mahmoud Ould MahPopular Social and Democratic Union6,4430.73
Kane Amadou MoctarParty for Liberty, Equality and Justice3,3420.38
Blank votes6,7530.76
Total887,762100.00
Valid votes887,76298.62
Invalid votes12,4381.38
Total votes900,200100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,203,35774.81
Source: African Elections Database

By wilaya

Wilaya Ould
Sid'Ahmed Taya		 Ould
Cheikh Malainine		 Ould
Jeid		 Ould
Mah		 Amadou
Moctar
Votes  % Votes  % Votes  % Votes  % Votes  %
Adrar 21,579 84.7 2,980 11.7 612 2.4 200 0.8 93 0.4
Assaba 97,947 95.0 3,836 3.7 544 0.5 605 0.6 183 0.2
Brakna 58,802 93.4 3,064 4.9 335 0.5 559 0.9 223 0.4
Dakhlet Nouadhibou 12,996 54.3 10,155 42.4 406 1.7 229 1.0 164 0.7
Gorgol 39,872 91.7 2,558 5.9 269 0.6 452 1.0 323 0.7
Guidimaka 30,675 92.1 1,667 5.0 283 0.8 397 1.2 276 0.8
Hodh Ech Chargui 191,708 98.7 1,608 0.8 341 0.2 472 0.2 129 0.1
Hodh El Gharbi 112,060 95.2 4,186 3.6 513 0.4 788 0.7 165 0.1
Inchiri 12,439 94.9 557 4.2 21 0.2 67 0.5 23 0.2
Nouakchott 63,489 69.4 22,763 24.9 2,314 2.5 1,739 1.9 1,190 1.3
Tagant 31,236 94.1 784 2.4 844 2.5 172 0.5 169 0.5
Tiris Zemmour 7,431 59.4 3,962 31.7 889 7.1 133 1.1 89 0.7
Trarza 120,099 95.9 4,018 3.2 281 0.2 539 0.4 299 0.2
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

  1. ↑ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p597, 599 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. 1 2 3 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.
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