Dakar
24 July 2009
General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (File) |
Mauritanian opposition leaders are calling out their supporters to demonstrate Saturday against what they say was a "hijacked election."
In a written statement, opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah called on all Mauritanians to reject what he calls this new coup d'etat and engage in all forms of democratic struggle to defend the rights of the free choice of the governed, their liberty, their dignity, and the stability of the country.
Mauritanian opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah (File photo) |
Mauritania's Constitutional Council had no such doubts.
Council President Abdellahi Ould Ely Salem says the constitutional court validated the results of Saturday's vote because opposition allegations of electoral fraud were too vague and offered no proof to challenge the Aziz win.
Salem says observers from each of the candidates campaigns signed the vote totals submitted by each polling station. The council's legal advisors, the Independent Electoral Commission, and the Interior Ministry all concluded that the vote was valid.
The Council's decision can not be appealed, leaving the opposition little choice for further action outside of public demonstrations.
Nouakchott University law professor Nema Ould Ahmed Zidane says the opposition's refusal to accept the Constitutional Council's decision has no legal basis and is purely political.
The European Union says opposition allegations of electoral fraud "should be properly investigated" by Mauritania "in accordance with national law and international standards." But that leaves the inquiry in the hands of the incoming Aziz administration and is far short of opposition demands for an independent international investigation.
A soldier stands guard as women wait in line to cast their vote for president, outside a polling station in central Nouakchott, Mauritania, 18 Jul 2009 |
Official results say Aziz won more than 52 percent of the vote, making last year's coup leader this year's president without a second round of voting in which Daddah and National Assembly President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir had vowed to unite against him.
Aziz toppled Mauritanian's first freely-elected leader last August. He then changed the constitution to allow military reservists to run for political office before resigning his commission to declare his candidacy.
Aziz supporters say the former general will be inaugurated as president next week.