Mauritania to hold parliamentary and municipal elections on 16 October

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – The parliamentary and municipal elections will be held in Mauritania on 16 October this year, according to government communiqué on Friday.

Elections for the 95-seat Parliament (lower chamber of the bicameral parliament) in Mauritania, have been held since late 2006 for a five-year term.

Most seats in the current parliament are for the government party, but over the past weeks, several MPs from the majority have defected to join the opposition.

The Mauritanian opposition has been demanding the postponement of the October parliamentary and municipal elections this year as condition for its participation to national dialogue.
-0- PANA SAS/TBM/SOC/MSA/MA 29July2011