Polls to go ahead as scheduled in October

Mauritanian lawmaker, Khalil Walad el-Tayeb, has called for organising elections as soon as possible, refusing delay under any circumstances. After several postponements since November 2011, Mauritania has scheduled its local and legislative polls for October 2013. In an interview with Arab Today, el-Tayeb blamed the previously tumultuous state of the country for the delay in elections, adding that the current ruling regime came to power to restore stability. Speaker of the Mauritanian National Assembly, Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, said in late June that one of the ways of resolving the current political crisis in Mauritania is the formation of a national union government. El-Tayeb praised Boulkheir’s initiative, stressing the necessity of a national dialogue across parties, but said the opposition needs to give up its demands for the current government to stand down. He denied that a recent visit by President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz to the city of Nouadhibou was part of premature political campaigning but told Arab Today that the president is visiting several cities to see what needs to be done to improve the conditions of living. El-tayeb also denied all accusations of corruption that the government has faces, saying that they have taken all measures to ensure corruption does not take place in Mauritania. He said the accusation were solely based on political conflict and were an attempt to undermine the government’s achievements. General Abdelaziz came to power by ousting his democratically-elected predecessor, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, in a military coup in August 2008. Nearly a year later, he won his own democratic mandate by being elected president in elections held under an agreement with coup opponents in July 2009. Opposition candidates claimed the result was fabricated and merely designed to legitimise military rule, however international observers said the vote had been largely free and fair.