Mauritanian Senate approves three draft electoral laws

Mauritanian Senate The Mauritanian senate on Wednesday saw clashes between the majority faction of loyalists of ruling President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and opposition. Sources told 'Arabstoday' that the arguments broke out during the discussion of amended constitutional laws and the electoral code, prompting the majority of the senate to threaten their opposing colleagues with preventing them from voting for the amendments.
The Senate, under the chairmanship of Ba Mamadou Mbaré, approved three draft laws for the electoral code, including a draft law amending certain provisions of the legal order issued on October 7, 1991, and another one issued on the same date and the law reegarding the election of representatives of the National Assembly.
The approved law also included a draft law amending provisions of a legal order issued on February 15, 1994, related to electing senators representing Mauritanians abroad. One of the important issues included in reviewing the ssenate law was raising the number of the members of the chamber from 56 to 57.
Meanwhile, the laws stipulated that polling days should not be restricted, and that candidacies be prevented unless submitted through the recognised political parties. It was also made obligatory for each party nominated in four constituencies to nominate one woman at least in any of the four. Moreover, any resigned senator from his party under the new amendments will lose his seat.
Powers related to the elections of senators will now be referred to the National Elections Commission, rather than the Ministry of the Interior and Decentralisation.
The committee also assigned the task of appointing the vote office and returning the senators, appointed as members in the government after leaving their posts, to their seats.
However, amendments to the law of representative elections saw the number of representatives rise from 95 to 146, noting that the number of the members of the National Assembly depends on the population in electoral districts.